The National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security have designated UNT a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research. UNT is one of about 60 designated research centers in the U.S. UNT also is one of only a few Texas universities to be named both a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research and a Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.

Cybersecurity research at UNT spans several colleges and departments, including business, criminal justice, information science, political science, economics and engineering. UNT researchers focus strongly on network security and human behavior in relation to cybersecurity. UNT also is the only institution in the U.S. to receive National Science Foundation funding for a Scholarship for Service program exclusive to doctoral students studying cybersecurity.