Northrop Grumman Foundation Renews Commitment to ACES Program with $2.76M Gift

UMD has received a renewed commitment of $2.76 million from the Northrop Grumman Foundation to support its Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) program.

The ACES program—the nation’s first honors program in cybersecurity—was launched by UMD's Honors College in 2012 with support from the Northrop Grumman Foundation to address a critical, national strategic need. Michel Cukier, Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2) associate director for education, serves as the director of ACES.

ACES began as a living-learning program for freshman and sophomore students. With this renewed commitment, the program will now expand to offer a more advanced cybersecurity curriculum to juniors and seniors, culminating in an ACES minor. It will also support additional staffing, programming, scholarships and facilities for upperclassmen.