United States service members stationed at Fort Gordon and around the world will have more opportunities to apply military training toward graduate degrees in cybersecurity and intelligence through a renewed partnership between Augusta University and the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence.

Augusta University President Russell T. Keen and Maj. Gen. Ryan Janovic, commanding general of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, signed a new memorandum of understanding on July 7 to continue the institutions’ strategic partnership.

The partnership began in 2016 and expanded in 2023 when AU and the Cyber Center of Excellence established pathways allowing eligible military training to count toward academic credit in select graduate programs. The 2026 agreement renews and further expands those opportunities.

The partnership is part of AU’s broader commitment to serving the military community. Nearly 1,800 military-connected students are part of the Augusta University community, including 870 who use military education benefits. AU has also been recognized as a Military Friendly School since 2016.

“Military service requires extraordinary commitment, discipline, leadership and a heart to serve,” Keen said. “The men and women who serve our nation gain invaluable knowledge and experience throughout their careers, and this agreement recognizes the value of what they’ve already accomplished.”

“It’s a simple idea, but it’s an important one,” Keen added. “Recognize excellence, remove unnecessary duplication and help talented leaders continue serving in new ways.”

The agreement expands pathways into graduate programs offered through AU’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences and Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Programs include the Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management and Technology; the Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies, including its Technical Intelligence Analysis concentration; and the PhD in Intelligence, Defense and Cybersecurity Policy.

Janovic pointed to Maj. Nelson Godbolt, a senior instructor at the U.S. Army Cyber School who earned his master’s degree through the MAISS program, as an example of the partnership’s impact.

“He arrived in the halls of Augusta University and felt a new sense of culture and different ideas,” Janovic said. “The promise is that together we will work in new ways to solve problems that can be foreseen and those that are not yet apparent in the defense of cybersecurity and in the intelligence fields.”

While the agreement creates tangible benefits for service members pursuing graduate education, Janovic said its greatest value extends beyond academic credit.

“The benefit that is derived is not in how many credit hours did they get,” Janovic said. “These transactional things are very important, but in my mind the important aspect is a combination of cultures, the combination of ideas, different ways of thinking about problem solving and allowing all of us to attain new levels of accomplishment so that we can contribute to the nation’s defense in a more powerful way.”

Augusta University is the only institution in Georgia to hold both the National Center of Academic Excellence designations in Cyber Defense and Cyber Operations from the National Security Agency, placing it among an elite group of institutions nationwide preparing the next generation of cyber professionals.

“Augusta University has intentionally built one of the nation’s premier cybersecurity education programs,” Keen said. “Today, more than 1,000 students are studying computer science and cybersecurity with guidance from more than 40 faculty members, growth that reflects both the demand for these careers and our commitment to preparing the workforce our nation needs.”

That demand is also reflected in the rapid growth of AU’s PhD in Intelligence, Defense and Cybersecurity Policy, one of the programs included in the renewed agreement. The program launched with 42 students in fall 2025 and is on track to enroll more than 64 students this fall, a 52% increase in one year.

Craig Albert, PhD, professor of political science and the graduate director of the PhD program and the Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies, said the growth demonstrates the demand for advanced education in these fields.

“The PhD program uniquely combines intelligence studies, national defense studies and cybersecurity policy in a comprehensive research-based doctoral program,” Albert said. “Students develop expertise in academic research while also gaining a deep understanding of U.S. strategy, doctrine, policy and ethics in each of these areas.”

Augusta University students learn alongside military personnel, government professionals and industry leaders inside the Georgia Cyber Center every day. Approximately half of the students enrolled in AU’s Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies are affiliated with the Department of Defense.

Keen said the renewed agreement reflects AU’s commitment to recognize the knowledge and leadership service members already possess while creating new opportunities for them to expand their impact.

“This agreement recognizes the tremendous talent already serving in uniform and invests in that talent so it can continue making an even greater impact in Georgia, across our nation and around the world,” Keen said.