Carnegie Mellon University Re-Designated as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity for Cyber Research through 2029 and Cyber Operations through 2030

Under the leadership of Information Networking Institute (INI) Director Dr. Dena Haritos Tsamitis, with contributing INI faculty members Dr. Patrick Tague and Dr. Hanan Hibshi, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has once again earned two national distinctions from the National Center for Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C): Cyber Research (CAE-R) and Cyber Operations (CAE-CO). This program, managed by the National Security Agency (NSA), recognizes colleges and universities that uphold the highest standards for cybersecurity education and academic excellence. 

“The INI has been a leader in cybersecurity education at Carnegie Mellon since we launched the university’s first graduate degree in information security in 2003,” said Dr. Haritos Tsamitis. “These national designations not only certify the INI’s security curriculum, but place CMU among the top institutions developing the security engineering workforce and allow our students and faculty to participate in critical national scholarship programs, research efforts and community building.” 

In April, Tague attended the CAE symposium in Charleston, South Carolina, to receive the CAE-R designation at the annual Ceremony. He was also recognized by the CAE in Cybersecurity Community for his contributions to the Community of Practice in Cyber Operations (CoP-CO). He has been a member for years, working to improve processes, mentor reviewers and help build the CAE community. 

The CAE-CO designation recognizes the strength of the INI’s Master of Science in Information Security (MSIS) and aligns with a specialization in Cyber Operations available to MSIS students. The CAE-R designation distinguishes six Ph.D. programs that contribute to building a highly skilled and educated cybersecurity workforce. In the School of Computer Science, these programs include: 

The following CMU Ph.D. programs have received the CAE-R designation, which distinguishes the top programs that help build a highly skilled and educated cybersecurity workforce. These designations allow faculty and students to apply for national grants to support critical security research, in addition to participating in the CAE community. In the College of Engineering, designated programs include the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy (EPP). In the School of Computer Science, these include: Ph.D. in Computer Science (CS); Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI); Ph.D. in Societal Computing (SC); and Ph.D. in Software Engineering (SE).  

 
CMU holds three total CAE designations, including Cyber Research, Cyber Operations and Cyber Defense (active through 2027), the latter two of which certify the strength of the INI’s MSIS and allow CMU to participate in competitive federal scholarship programs such as the CyberCorps© Scholarship for Service (SFS@CMU) and Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Academy (DoD CSA). Membership in the CAE community also allows CMU to engage in national working groups and symposia that advance the state of cybersecurity education and drive cross-institutional collaboration.