Cyber Security IT - SMC

JohnGalt78

JohnGalt78

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Feb 11, 2022
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25
Hello all:

We live in New England and my daughter wants to study Cyber Security / IT at one of these SMC schools. She has applied to VT, VMI, Citadel and Norwich. She is not interested in attending any non-SMC.

She will be Army ROTC. Her AROTC Scholarship app was just completed. Fingers crossed on that one. She wants to commission active duty and hopes to land in the US Army Cyber Command.

Anyone have thoughts as to which school offers the best path forward to US Army Cyber Command?
 
JohnGalt78 said:
Hello all:

We live in New England and my daughter wants to study Cyber Security / IT at one of these SMC schools. She has applied to VT, VMI, Citadel and Norwich. She is not interested in attending any non-SMC.

She will be Army ROTC. Her AROTC Scholarship app was just completed. Fingers crossed on that one. She wants to commission active duty and hopes to land in the US Army Cyber Command.

Anyone have thoughts as to which school offers the best path forward to US Army Cyber Command?
Click to expand...
Norwich and The Citadel both are Center for Academic Excellence designated for Cyber Defense by the NSA and Homeland Security. A school has to apply for this designation and meet certain standards demonstrated in an annual report and periodic review. Something to consider.

When we visited Norwich this summer there was a cyber program held there for SMCs. I think it was held in part at another SMC (maybe The Citadel?) and then part at Norwich.

 
I see that you have ruled out non-SMC, but RIT is worth a look. DS is in his third year there doing computer security and has had a great experience.
 
Honestly, she should pick the college she feels most comfortable attending and will do well at. Some are large universities and some are small colleges - the key is where does she think she will do well academically, whether or not she ends up commissioning into military service. Over 4 years, many things can happen - her medical, physical condition and interest in commissioning can all change. And her Army branching assignment will depend on where she lands on OML. The OML measures academic, physical fitness and ROTC performance as well as needs of the Army - and cadets compete with all ROTC cadets nationally for branch assignments. All of the SMCs participate in the DOD cyber defense program as part of a federal grant to these school to allow them to start cyber institutes. This includes scholarships that offer internships and stipends for qualifying students.

The Citadel offers several majors that offer entry into cyber security careers, both military and civilian. Located in Charleston, it has the benefit of being close to both private and government agencies engaged in cyber security - like the Naval Information Warfare Center. By next fall, the new Capers Hall should be finished on campus, and will include a SCIF for government use as well as training students enrolled in cyber as well as intelligence and security programs. Below is the link to The Citadel's Cyber Defense Institute and relevant degree programs, faculty, facilities, etc: https://go.citadel.edu/ccs/the-citadel-department-of-defense-dod-cyber-institute-cdci/.

Note - you do not have to commission in the military service to enter the DOD Cyber Security service. DOD and many of the Homeland and national security agencies offer cyber scholarships with generous financial incentives and stipends that offer internships and employment after graduation. Here is an article that profiles some current cadets at The Citadel selected for the program: https://today.citadel.edu/new-cybercorps-scholarship-for-services-cadets-announced/

Best of luck to your daughter.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. Yes, she has already been accepted to the Norwich University - Patrick Leahy School of Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing.

Senator Patrick Leahy School of Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing

The Leahy School of Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing blends theory and hands-on experience using state-of-the-art forensic tools unheard of at other institutions of this size, our students learn skills to meet critical demand for jobs in private industry, government, law enforcement, the...
www.norwich.edu www.norwich.edu

She should be hearing back from the other schools within the next 4-6 weeks.
VT seems to have many different Cyber programs too.
cyber.vt.edu

Cybersecurity Home

cyber.vt.edu cyber.vt.edu

Cybersecurity Education Programs

cyber.vt.edu cyber.vt.edu

I believe more and more colleges are seeing the void for qualified people in this industry and are doing their best to develop curriculums to address this need quickly.
 
Just looking through this and not sure if you have chosen a school yet. My DS is in his second year at The Citadel. He has a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship and his goal is to try and get a commission into the Army Cyber Command. He is pursuing a double major in Cyber Operations and Computer Science. Glen gave a lot of very good information above. The one thing that I would add is the focus on internships for cyber security is excellent. My DS did an internship with the Naval Information Warfare Center in New Orleans after his first year and has an NSA cyber security internship lined up for this summer. The whole Citadel DoD Cyber Institute cohort (CDCI) does an excellent job of helping these cadets pursue and apply for opportunities. They can apply to the Citadel Cyber Leader Development Program after their Knob year which focuses on training, certifications, internships, cyber competitions/events, service learning/outreach, and mentorship along with the opportunity to earn more money by completing milestones. Getting some of these certifications can also help in getting Army Skill Identifiers (ASI's) which may help in getting the branch assignment you desire. Like Glen mentioned, whether you are ROTC or pursue DoD scholarships, the opportunity to have your education mostly or completely paid for is really good. My DS actually puts money in the bank every month between his ROTC scholarships and the academic scholarships he receives from the school.

Best of luck to your daughter.
 
VT has an outstanding Cyber Team (that's reasonably large too) and we are getting a new cyber warfare center next year which will be a great resource to have for anyone interested in cyber. Our cyber team has a specific Corps of Cadets club as well as being a part of the larger cyber team for the university. Our computer science program at the school is very good and I've only heard good things about it. Visit all potential schools (if feasible) to see which one you like and talk to current cadets to get a feel for all of the different cultures/traditions. I'd be happy to answer any other questions about VTCC. Go Hokies!
 
JohnGalt78 said:
Hello all:

We live in New England and my daughter wants to study Cyber Security / IT at one of these SMC schools. She has applied to VT, VMI, Citadel and Norwich. She is not interested in attending any non-SMC.

She will be Army ROTC. Her AROTC Scholarship app was just completed. Fingers crossed on that one. She wants to commission active duty and hopes to land in the US Army Cyber Command.

Anyone have thoughts as to which school offers the best path forward to US Army Cyber Command?
Click to expand...
All those choices are good...it really boils down to which school she likes the most or makes the most sense logistically....it would be great if one school was #1 in both categories. Norwich is in NE but maybe she wants to get out of her backyard. My DD has Norwich as her #1 but I wish it was closer to where we live...It's 9 hours.
 
USMC8993 said:
All those choices are good...it really boils down to which school she likes the most or makes the most sense logistically....it would be great if one school was #1 in both categories. Norwich is in NE but maybe she wants to get out of her backyard. My DD has Norwich as her #1 but I wish it was closer to where we live...It's 9 hours.
Click to expand...
Attending Norwich was one of the best decisions for my son. We are Texans. He needed to leave the Great State of Texas and meet, befriend, and interact with folks totally different from us. The experiences of travel with all it's road bumps has also been a great way to develop his problem solving toolbox.
Norwich's enrollment hovers around 2500. My son attended a 6A HS with an enrollment of 4000. He wanted a small school experience. We are 2.5 hours from TAMU, great school, network second to none (we are a cult), outstanding cyber program as well as STEM, and a huge Corps but it has 80K in the student body.
With all that said Norwich offers a great learning model. Cadet and civilains learn to interact with each other. They have a 3 cadet to 1 civilian student ratio. This model mimics military-civilian government-fed contractor relationships in the real world. Everyone learns to get along, play well, work well, and interphase with one another. This is something almost non-existent at a SA or VMI-Citadel.

An Aggie Dad with a Norwich Son
 
banjoppd said:
Attending Norwich was one of the best decisions for my son. We are Texans. He needed to leave the Great State of Texas and meet, befriend, and interact with folks totally different from us. The experiences of travel with all it's road bumps has also been a great way to develop his problem solving toolbox.
Norwich's enrollment hovers around 2500. My son attended a 6A HS with an enrollment of 4000. He wanted a small school experience. We are 2.5 hours from TAMU, great school, network second to none (we are a cult), outstanding cyber program as well as STEM, and a huge Corps but it has 80K in the student body.
With all that said Norwich offers a great learning model. Cadet and civilains learn to interact with each other. They have a 3 cadet to 1 civilian student ratio. This model mimics military-civilian government-fed contractor relationships in the real world. Everyone learns to get along, play well, work well, and interphase with one another. This is something almost non-existent at a SA or VMI-Citadel.

An Aggie Dad with a Norwich Son
Click to expand...
Completely vouch for this, as a Cyber major this past year, I really appreciated the small class sizes, which just make the courses and major so much more enjoyable. In some cases, it feels not more than a day out of high-school, with my biggest class probably being around 35 people, but nonetheless, each and every professor I have so far encountered is able to balance out the student body well, and are always helpful no matter when you may have a question.
 
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