Home Nonprofit & Education Education RIC’s cybersecurity institute earns NSA academic excellence designation

RIC’s cybersecurity institute earns NSA academic excellence designation

By

James Bessette

-

04/21/2025

RIC — RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE'S Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies has formally been designated as a U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island College and its Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies has formally been designated as a U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Federal and state officials formally announced the significant designation Monday at the state college for the institute, which launched in 2023. Former

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PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island College and its Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies has formally been designated as a U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Federal and state officials formally announced the significant designation Monday at the state college for the institute, which launched in 2023. Former U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, the institute’s current chairperson who prioritized the cybersecurity industry while in Congress, previously told Providence Business News he would seek accreditation from the NSA’s National Centers of Academic Excellence, allowing the institute to tap into federal CyberCorps scholarship program for cybersecurity studies. RIC on Monday said the designation also enables the college to access additional Department of Defense and National Science Foundation grant money to support its cybersecurity programming. Also, officials said the designation will help accelerate the institute’s workforce development programming and have students from the institute fill various cyber needs in multiple local industries. “This designation is a credit to the outstanding faculty and resources that we have here at Rhode Island College. With more open cybersecurity positions than ever before, we are strategically preparing our students to fill nation’s cybersecurity workforce needs,” RIC President Jack R. Warner said in a statement. “With an NSA-backed curriculum and a new hands-on training facility on the horizon, Rhode Island College is the place for students to study cybersecurity.” The Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science, with a minor in cybersecurity, is the NSA-validated program at RIC, the college said. RIC’s cybersecurity degree will be eligible for Centers of Academic Excellence designation next year, the college said. James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.