Cooperative Education Program - Maryland

About the role

NSA's Cooperative Education (Co-op) Program at Fort Meade, MD offers students exciting, impactful and professional work opportunities (with pay and benefits!) to grow their knowledge of the Intelligence Community and federal government while advancing NSA's two primary missions: collecting, analyzing, and producing foreign signals intelligence; and providing cybersecurity solutions and guidance to protect critical national infrastructure. Right from the start, you will be involved in real life projects and will have full use of NSA labs, equipment, and advanced technologies. These areas will offer you increasing challenges and satisfying learning experiences, since our mission demands that we work on the cutting edge of technology.

Program details

• 52 weeks of alternating semesters of school and work at NSA
• During work tours, students work a 40-hour week
• Subsidized student housing and travel entitlements during work tours if over 75 miles from Fort Meade, MD
• Tuition reimbursement for one technical course per semester (up to $2,500)
• Potentially eligible for full time employment following successful completion of the program

Please note: As this program requires students to rotate between semesters of work and study, applicants are encouraged to discuss the possibility of participating in this type of program with their school (Academic Advisor, Co-Op Advisor, Registrar and/or Financial Aid Office, etc.) to determine the effect it may have on their full time student status during scheduled work tours as well as any effects it may have on scholarships and financial aid.

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be pursuing one of the following majors: Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Cyber Security (technical track), Data Science, Mathematics or Artificial Intelligence
• Must be a second semester college freshman or a college sophomore
• Preferred cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for all college work complete
• Must be eligible to be granted a TS/SCI security clearance after successfully completing a background investigation, a Full-scope Polygraph and a Psychological Evaluation
• Must be available and in the U.S. for operational and technical interviews and other applicable processing, both in-person and via telephone/internet, between the months of November 2025 and March 2026

Pay & benefits

• Salaries are determined by the percentage of credits completed toward a degree. Each 20% block of credits completed with at least a 3.0 GPA will allow you to be promoted to the next grade. Grades range from GGD-03/05 to GGD-07/01 (which can be found at OPM.gov) annually.
• Due to the rotational nature of the Co-op program, students are paid proportionate to the number of weeks worked in a year and are authorized Leave without Pay during scheduled school rotations.
• The salaries aforementioned include a locality based comparability payment.
• Students will receive annual leave, sick leave and paid federal holidays.

How to apply

To apply for this position, please click the 'Apply' button located at the top right of this posting. After completing the application for the first time, or reviewing previously entered information, and clicking the 'Submit' button, you will receive a confirmation email. Please ensure your spam filters are configured to accept emails from noreply@intelligencecareers.gov.

To be considered for our Co-op positions, you must submit a COMPLETE application package by 31 October. Your application package must include:

• Unofficial transcript with a traditional grading scale (GPA)
• PDF copy of your current resume

If your Registrar is capable of directly sending electronic transcripts, please have them sent directly to you and then email the transcripts to CoopHiring@uwe.nsa.gov as an attachment. Please do not send HTML transcripts accessible via a website or text versions thereof.

Deadline: Applications are accepted 1 September – 31 October. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for review and security clearance processing.

U.S. Citizenship is required for all applicants.