Webster University Named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense

The National Center for Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE) named Webster University a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense center. The recognition was made through the Cybersecurity program in the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology. The designation is valid through 2030.

According to the NCAE, which is managed by the National Security Agency’s National Cryptologic School, the recognition was created to recognize and grant designations to schools that offer rigorous degree programs in information security. Federal partners to the NCAE include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology/National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense Office of the Chief Information Officer, and U.S. Cyber Command.

“This recognition reflects the hard work of the Cybersecurity faculty at Webster and the support from departments across the university,” said Professor James Curtis, chair of the Computer and Information Sciences Department in the Walker School. “It confirms that our curriculum and academic standards are preparing our students for the challenges that they will face in the workplace.”

The NCAE was created out of the 2018 National Cyber Strategy, which addressed the critical shortage of professionals with cybersecurity skills and highlights the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America’s cyberspace. The mission of the NCAE is to create and manage a collaborative cybersecurity educational program with community colleges, colleges, and universities that:

• Establish standards for cybersecurity curriculum and academic excellence,
• Includes competency development among students and faculty,
• Values community outreach and leadership in professional development,
•  Integrates cybersecurity practice within the institution across academic disciplines,
• Actively engages in solutions to challenges facing cybersecurity education.

This is not the first time the Cybersecurity program at Webster has been recognized by the NCAE. In 2019, Webster University was named as the first private non-profit university in Missouri to receive accreditation from the NCAE in Cyber Defense program.. Other national programs have taken notice of Webster’s program. The program was recognized in 2022 as offering one of the most innovative instructional methods among cybersecurity programs in the United States by the National CyberWatch Center. And in 2023, Webster’s program partnered with UNCOMN, a St. Louis based agency providing business-to-business management and technology consulting services, to rebrand the program’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which is used to test the latest methods of detecting and stopping online attacks. 

Visit Webster’s Cybersecurity page to learn more about the program.