Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students

About the ACES programs

The Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) Program provides curricular and co-curricular opportunities for a close-knit community of diverse students to build connections and explore the cybersecurity workforce through close partnerships with leaders in the field. As the future of the workforce, ACES students develop leadership skills and become innovators in cybersecurity through applied experiences such as research, internships and group projects.

ACES students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and majors, and are united by a commitment to academic excellence, a passion for making the world a better place and a desire to learn both in and out of the classroom.

Students interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity are encouraged to complete both the ACES living-learning program and the ACES minor over the course of four years, alongside their academic majors. Participation in the ACES LLP is not required for entry into the minor.

“As I was admitted into the engineering school, I knew I wanted to get involved with other engineering students as much as possible, while living in an Honors Living-Learning Program (LLP). The Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) program immediately caught my attention as I reviewed all of UMD’s LLPs online, due to its focus on engineering and computer science. ACES has been a fantastic experience for me. I have met many close friends from very diverse backgrounds – all being fun, extremely intelligent and willing to work together in order to succeed academically. In addition, ACES does a great job connecting students with corporate sponsors. Nearly every ACES student is offered a first year summer internship and ACES plays an important role in many of those offers.”

Clay Hoover