Student Fellows

CACR Student Fellowship Program

"As a CACR Student Fellow...

...I was mentored by an amazing team. I had the incredible opportunity to work on diverse projects, present my work at the premier National Science Foundation cybersecurity conference, and engage with leading experts in the field—experiences that are both invaluable and rare for a student.” 

- Mohammad Nasir Moradi, 2024 CACR Student Fellow

Through the CACR student fellowship program, leading cybersecurity experts at Indiana University present graduate students with opportunities to gain new and valuable skills, on-the-job experiences, and exposure to tools used in protecting critical information and systems.

CACR student fellows are at the forefront of client work, conducting cyber assessments and operations research, and finding ways to increase automation. Every student fellow is paired with a CACR staff mentor, and contributes directly to CACR’s active projects, programs, and initiatives over the course of a year-long appointment. 

Prior to applying, closely review the information below.

If you have questions, contact cacr@iu.edu with the subject line "Question regarding the CACR Student Fellowship Program."  

Submit Application

Program Details

Student fellow appointments are for one year, beginning at the start of the fall semester and ending before the beginning of the subsequent fall semester, with an option to include the intervening summer term. Onboarding activities will begin in the two weeks prior to or following the start of the semester depending on student and staff availability.

During the spring semester each year, we will announce the deadline for applicants wishing to be considered for that fall’s cohort. While we plan to align the start of each cohort with the beginning of the academic year, we are accepting applications year-round.

CACR takes a highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach to addressing cybersecurity challenges. Therefore, students from all disciplines and schools are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline. While we intend to accept applications year-round, for academic year 2025-26, only applications received by 11:59 p.m. ET on 6 April 2025 will be considered.

Invitations to Interview. We will notify all applicants regarding whether they are accepted for interviews before 11:59 p.m. ET on 18 April 2025. Interviews will take place between 21 April 2025 and 2 May 2025.

Notification of Acceptance. Interviewees will receive notification of acceptance not later than 11:59 p.m. ET on 9 May 2025.

For academic year 2025-26, up to three fellowships will be awarded.

To be eligible, applicants must be enrolled as an Indiana University graduate student with a GPA of at least 3.4. Students from all disciplines and schools are encouraged to apply.

All IU Maurer School of Law students are eligible to apply but should be aware of the existing for-credit Student Affiliate Program associated with the graduate certificates for cybersecurity and information privacy law and policy. Those opportunities are distinct from this program.

International graduate students are eligible for the program. International students on visas who are selected for fellowships will work with staff at the Office of International Services and CACR to ensure that they can complete their fellowship requirements.

Click the button below to begin your application. Attach the following required documents:

1) Resume or CV

2) A Statement of Interest no longer than 1 page. Your statement should include: 

  1. Information regarding what appeals to you about CACR's initiatives and mission
  2. How your interests align with CACR’s
  3. How your skills would be of most value to support CACR's objectives

3) Two references, including contact information

Optional, but strongly preferred:

4) A Writing Sample. Samples can be of any length and on any topic. Existing published and unpublished work may be used. Writing is an important part of working at CACR, and we want to get a sense of your writing style and capabilities. This must be your own work product, with proper attribution and unaided by writing tools more sophisticated than spell-checking.

Applicants and applications not meeting these requirements will not be considered.

Student fellows will be compensated at a rate of $25/hour for up to $10,000 total for the year.

Student fellows commit to devote no fewer than 200 hours and no more than 400 hours to CACR work over the course of the one-year appointment.

Student fellows will meet and communicate regularly with their CACR mentor.

Students fellows will meet CACR's standards for professionalism, teamwork, respect for others, and timeliness.

Students who successfully complete their fellowship will be acknowledged permanently as CACR Student Fellows.