UA Little Rock Awarded $750,000 Cybersecurity Training Grant

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $750,000 grant to advance workforce development initiatives in cybersecurity, reinforcing its position as a leader in this critical field.

UA Little Rock is among 14 institutions awarded nearly $26 million in training grants in December. These funds were announced by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Division of Higher Education Commissioner Ken Warden, and Chief Workforce Officer Mike Rogers as part of the Higher Industry Readiness through Educational Development (HIRED) Program. The program, funded by the Workforce Initiative Act of 2015, aims to bolster Arkansas’s workforce in key industries.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to education, and the HIRED Grant Program helps us meet Arkansas students, schools, and businesses where they are,” Gov. Sanders said in a press release. “These grants will help build the workforce of the future and make Arkansas more competitive in industries such as steel manufacturing, aerospace and defense, lithium, and cybersecurity.”

The grant will support several workforce initiatives led by UA Little Rock’s cybersecurity, computer science, and information technology faculty. These include the development of two new certificates of proficiency in artificial intelligence and software engineering, expanding the university’s range of specialized training options.

Additionally, the funding will enhance the Certificate of Proficiency in Cyber-Informed Engineering by integrating it into the Cyber Learning Network. This consortium of seven University of Arkansas System campuses already offers a Certificate of Proficiency in Cybersecurity Fundamentals. The first course in the Cyber-Informed Engineering program, Industrial System Security, is scheduled for launch in Fall 2025.

“These specialization tracks give students a broad range of skills to prepare for the workforce and help them identify career paths,” Dr. Sandra Leiterman, director of cybersecurity education and outreach at UA Little Rock. “Certificates completed in a shorter timeframe allow students to enter the workforce quickly or gain new skills while already working. They also provide opportunities for career advancement and higher pay as students continue earning additional certifications.”

The grant will also enable Virtual Arkansas to adapt UA Little Rock’s Cybersecurity 1 course for concurrent enrollment, which will allow qualified high school teachers to teach the course to Arkansas high school students. Teachers who have completed UA Little Rock’s National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy (NCTA) will be eligible to teach these classes, having earned a graduate certificate in cybersecurity education and 18 credit hours in graduate-level education. UA Little Rock aims to launch these concurrent enrollment classes by Fall 2025.

“All of these programs are designed to make jobs more accessible and to meet the increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals in Arkansas,” said Dr. Philip Huff, associate professor of cybersecurity at UA Little Rock. “These early-college certificate programs help current workers upskill and prepare new workers for the job market. A key benefit is that these certificates are stackable toward a bachelor’s degree, allowing working adults to pursue education at their own pace while enhancing their career prospects.”

UA Little Rock has continued to gain a reputation as a leader in cybersecurity education. Cybersecurity Guide, a cybersecurity education website whose mission is to connect tomorrow’s cybersecurity workforce with today’s best educational and professional training options, recently named UA Little Rock 13th on the list of Top 25 Best Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Programs for 2025 and was 24th on the list of Top 25 Most Affordable Bachelor’s Programs for 2025. UA Little Rock is the only university from Arkansas to be named on either list.

Find out more about UA Little Rock’s cybersecurity programs by visiting this website.