With the rise of artificial intelligence and the rapid advancement of smart technologies, cybersecurity continues to be an important and growing industry needed to achieve online safety and protect individuals and organizations from cyber threats.
As the largest four-year public university system in the nation, the California State University is instrumental in preparing the next generation of cyber defenders who will help their communities and workplaces adapt to new technology. In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, learn how the CSU is making strides to prepare students for this industry.
'An Educational Ecosystem'
A new pilot program, the
Workforce Innovation Technology Hubs Cyber (WITH Cyber) project—led by
Cal State San Bernardino in collaboration with
San José State and
Fresno State—will build a pipeline of cybersecurity professionals to address the shortage in the cybersecurity workforce.
“The WITH Cyber initiative will establish a statewide cyber workforce educational ecosystem within California," says Tony Coulson, executive director of the CSUSB
Center for Cyber and Artificial Intelligence (AI), formerly the Cybersecurity Center. “This comprehensive program leveraging collaborative workforce development ecosystems is designed to meet the state of California's cyber workforce demands."
To accomplish this, the universities will collaborate with industry stakeholders and establish partnerships with K-12 schools, community colleges and four-year universities to develop the cybersecurity pipeline at all levels of education. They will also develop and promote cyber-related educational programs with hands-on learning experiences, such as academic programs, research opportunities, apprenticeships and internships, mentoring and career pathways.
Fresno State, for example, will use its funding to expand its
Soft-Start IT-Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Collaborative with Fresno City College and launch a cybersecurity summer internship program.
“With over 55,000 cybersecurity jobs currently available in California and 572,000 in the U.S., and as technology like artificial intelligence emerges, we need to do our utmost to prepare today's and future generations of cybersecurity professionals for the workforce,"
said Keith Clement, Fresno State criminology professor and the university's principal investigator on the project.
Through the pilot, the universities plan to determine effective strategies for growing the cybersecurity workforce that can be implemented at all 23 CSUs. The program currently involves these three universities because CSUSB is a Center for Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, Fresno State works with the California Governor's Cybersecurity Taskforce in the state's Office of Emergency Services, and San José State produces the most security engineers working in Silicon Valley.
The pilot is funded through June 2026 by California's Cybersecurity Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnership Pilot Program, which is called for in the California Education Code and Assembly Bill 569. CSUSB received $2 million while SJSU and Fresno State each received $1 million.
In addition, CSUSB's Center for Cyber and AI received almost $1 million in federal funds to launch the
Tech and Workforce Hub Project to further support students in entering the cybersecurity field.
The project will create a local security operations center in the university's John M. Pfau Library, which will provide hands-on educational experiences for CSUSB and community college students studying cybersecurity. It will also increase cybersecurity jobs in the region, offer technology training and feature state-of-the-art cybersecurity infrastructure that will support cyber protection for the community through risk identification and mitigation.
“This investment is a testament to the critical importance of cybersecurity in our current landscape,"
Coulson said. “We're excited to create pathways that blend education with real-world experience, preparing our students to meet the challenges of the future."
Elevating Cyber Education
The universities of the CSU have also recognized the importance of preparing graduates for the quality jobs available in the cybersecurity sector by offering
cyber-focused degrees and academic programs.
San José State recently launched the
College of Information, Data and Society, which brings together the School of Information and the Department of Applied Data Science to expand access to degrees that crosscut these two areas. Such academic pathways would prepare graduates for work in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data analytics and cybersecurity, among others.
“Putting these programs together into one college is yet another example of SJSU maximizing its resources and innovating to the benefit of our students,"
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said. “We are at a pivotal moment in the future of information. SJSU intends to lead our students into that future, ensuring they will be well-prepared to meet this moment."
Similarly, Cal State San Bernardino announced its creation of the School of Cyber and Decision Sciences at the Center for Cyber and AI's October 25 open house. Blending the disciplines of cybersecurity, business and data analytics, supply chain management and applied AI, the school will offer four undergraduate and master's degree programs at launch focused on cybersecurity, business analytics and intelligence, as well as interdisciplinary studies in business, criminal justice, public administration and national security.
Also in October, San Diego State announced its new
Cybersecurity Center for Research and Education (CCRE). The center will provide research opportunities addressing real-world cybersecurity issues like blockchain security and AI—as well as expand the university’s educational offerings related to cybersecurity, such as digital forensics and cybersecurity management.
"There's this complementary and inseparable link between research and education, and cybersecurity is a very fast-moving field,” said Rob Beverly, the center’s founding director and SDSU computer science professor. “One of the things that we really want to do to prepare students for the workforce is not only give them the cutting-edge skills that they need for today, but to also understand what it means to do research so that they're prepared as the field evolves and changes."
Learn more about studying
cybersecurity and
artificial intelligence at the CSU.