Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) today announced it signed an agreement with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (NYSE:SAI), a FORTUNE 500 scientific, engineering and technology applications company, to deliver master's degrees in cyber security to more than 600 top-performing employees over the next decade.

The first 20 employees in the program will enter a blended curriculum later this month, starting with traditional classroom instruction by NYU-Poly faculty members at SAIC's headquarters in McLean, Va., and continuing over 30 months with online classes delivered through the school's e-learning unit, NYU-ePoly. NYU-Poly was selected for the agreement following a search in which 20 other top-ranked schools competed.

"Every form of information technology-from the power grid to defense-requires strong digital protection," said SAIC Vice President and Cyber Security Program Director Robert Giesler. "Many of the services and solutions we provide to government and commercial customers depend on highly talented people. To be at the forefront, we will help empower the next generation of skilled cyber security experts."

In the United States today there are an estimated 1,000 highly qualified personnel with specialized degrees in cyber security. According to a national security expert, the nation needs 10,000 to 30,000.

NYU-Poly was one of the earliest schools to introduce a cyber security program, receiving National Security Agency (NSA) approval nearly a decade ago. Designated as both a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and a Center of Academic Excellence in Research by the NSA, the school houses a National Science Foundation-funded Information Systems and Internet Security (ISIS) Laboratory, the nerve center of cyber security research.

"SAIC employees will perform lab assignments remotely on the school's Remote Virtual Security Laboratory," said NYU-Poly Cyber Security Program Director Nasir Memon. "Known as VITAL, it is the nation's only university-based virtual cyber-security lab and is at the core of many of the courses to be delivered to company personnel."