# DHS Cybersecurity Internship Program Act

This bill creates a paid internship program at the Department of Homeland Security specifically focused on cybersecurity. The program would hire students and young people from various educational backgrounds—ranging from high school students to graduate students—to work on real cybersecurity projects within the department. These interns would get paid for their work and would be assigned tasks that match their current education level and skills, so a high school student wouldn't be doing the same work as someone pursuing a graduate degree.

To participate, you'd need to be at least 16 years old, a U.S. citizen, and currently enrolled in school. This could be high school, community college, a four-year university, graduate school, or a technical or trade school. The bill specifically asks the department to recruit from a diverse range of schools, including historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, to make sure the program reaches students from different backgrounds and communities.

The practical benefit here is straightforward: students interested in cybersecurity get real-world experience working for a federal agency while still in school, they earn money doing it, and the Department of Homeland Security gets to identify and train young talent in a field where there's a significant shortage of skilled workers. The bill also requires the department to report annually to Congress on how many interns participated, where they came from, what work they did, and how successful the recruitment efforts were—essentially holding the program accountable for actually reaching diverse student populations rather than just saying they will.

DHS Cybersecurity Internship Program Act

Clarke, Yvette D.

DHS Cybersecurity Internship Program ActThis bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out a cybersecurity internship program. Under this program, DHS must provide paid&nbsp;cybersecurity internships to participating students enrolled in secondary schools; technical, trade, or vocational schools; or institutions of higher education.