The United States National Security Agency (NSA), an intelligence agency under the US Department of Defense, today announced a new program to "prime" college students for careers in "Cyber Ops."

Called the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations Program, it's the result of the President's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education. The program's goal is "to ultimately yield a larger pool of professionals with expertise" in the protection of national cyberspace.

The program will "identify institutions that offer a deeply technical, interdisciplinary curriculum centered on fields such as computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering." Additionally, it will offer selected students the opportunity to attend "cutting-edge summer seminars" at NSA.

Participating schools will receive a "CAE-Cyber Operations" designation for five-year periods. The first four to be selected are Dakota State University, the Naval Postgraduate School, Northeastern University, and the University of Tulsa.

The CAE-Cyber Operations programs will exceed other cybersecurity courses by focusing on "specialized cyber operations—collection, exploitation, and response."

The NSA's announcement says that participating students and faculty members will not be engaged in NSA work. However, participants in the seminars "will be hired as temporary NSA employees."

Presumably, talented participants might be offered positions within the NSA. They will, at the least, be identified by the organization.