Augusta University is partnering with the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence to create two online master programs that will allow soldiers to further their educations at their own pace, wherever they may be located.
To launch the programs, Augusta University President Brooks Keel and Maj. Gen. Paul Stanton, commanding officer of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, signed a memorandum of understanding to secure the ongoing agreement.
The programs include the masters of science in information security management, and the master of arts in intelligence and security studies.
Partnered with the Cyber Center since 2016, Keel said the university is proud to support programs that will aim to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity and intelligence domain readiness.
“Augusta University appreciates the service of our nation’s service members, those serving in the intelligence community, at home and abroad, and for all of the family members who support them,” said Keel in a press release. “These asynchronous programs will allow the flexibility our service members need when they’re trying to fit classwork into their already busy schedules.”
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Collaborating with AU’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences and Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, the launch also marks the university’s first fully online graduate degree program offered through Augusta University Online.
For those who have completed training and education courses at the Cyber Center, the agreement between the two facilities establishes terms for awarding course credit to military personnel, and expands education opportunities to enable service members to complete a master degree.
“Balancing the demands of military service, family and education is a daunting challenge. We believe this partnership and the Augusta University Online learning platform will make degree attainment well within the reach of all of our country’s dedicated service members,” said Marc Austin, associate provost and dean of Augusta University Online.
Stanton and Keel said both highlighted areas of study are vital to the nation’s present and future security.
“There is a requirement for our soldiers to continue their education, their self-development. The rate of change of technology, of our adversaries, demands an educational foundation upon which our soldiers can be dynamic in the face of these changes,” said Stanton. “Partnerships like that with Augusta University help ensure that our formations have that educational underpinning, and it is why a partnership like this is so powerful.”
According to Keel, with half a million jobs unfilled across the nation and thousands of workers needed in the Augusta area alone, the U.S. is facing crisis-level worker shortages in cybersecurity.
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“These programs of study are crucial to our national security, and through this partnership [we] are demonstrating our commitment to creating a strong and consistent pipeline to fill key IT, cybersecurity, and intelligence community roles throughout our city, state and nation,” Keel said in a press release.
With the aspirational goal of enrolling 16,000 students by 2030, Stanton said partnerships, like those with AU, are the “pinnacle” of improving educational systems.
“The willingness of AU to adjust and develop and design a curriculum that fits right into what our soldiers need, it’s unprecedented and frankly, it’s the way of the future,” he said.
In 2021, the School of Computer and Cyber Securities launched its first doctoral program in computer and cyber sciences; meanwhile, Pamplin College plans to offer a doctorate in Intelligence and Security Studies starting in 2025.
“I look forward to proudly shaking the hand of each and every service member as they cross the graduation stage in just a few years,” said Austin.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education, lifestyle and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
