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CAE Candidates Program
Welcome to the CAE Candidates National Center (CCNC). The CCNC operates under the direction of the National Security Agency (NSA) National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Program Office.
The CAE Candidates Program supports colleges and universities through the rigorous process of earning designation as a Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cybersecurity. The program provides guidance, resources, and mentorship to help institutions meet the national standards established by the NCAE-C Program Office.
To begin the process, all CAE designation candidates must complete and submit the online CAE Program Applicant Checklist available on the CAE Community website.
If your institution is interested in applying for a CAE designation, review the information below about the Program of Study validations and CAE-C designations — Cyber-AI, CAE-CD, CAE-CO, and CAE-R — or explore answers to common questions in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.
For more information, please contact: ccnc@whatcom.edu.
Centers of Academic Excellence – Cyber Defense
Regionally accredited academic institutions offering cybersecurity degrees and/or certificates at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree levels are eligible to apply for the CAE – CD designation.
After candidates submit the online CAE Program Applicant Checklist on the CAE Community website, each institution is referred to Program Development or Application Assistance. Click the button below for the resources for the phase to which your educational institution has been referred.
- CAE-CD Resources (Includes Program Development resources and information)
Centers of Academic Excellence – Cyber Operations
Technical, interdisciplinary, higher education programs firmly grounded in the computer science, computer engineering and/or electrical engineering disciplines, with extensive opportunities for hands-on applications via labs and exercises, are eligible to apply for the CAE – CO designation.
Centers of Academic Excellence – Cyber Research
The Cyber Research (CAE-R) designation is awarded to DoD schools, PhD-producing military academies, and regionally accredited, degree-granting four-year institutions rated by the Carnegie Foundation Basic Classification system as either a Doctoral University – Highest Research Activity (R1), Doctoral University – Higher Research Activity (R2), or Doctoral University – Moderate Research Activity (R3).
Mentors & Advisors
The NCyTE Center at Whatcom Community College provides advisors to cybersecurity programs in the Program Development phase, and mentors to programs in the Application Assistance phase. This section of our website provides the files and resources that advisors and mentors need.