Coker University Receives NSF Grant to Enhance Research Capacity and Build Sustainable STEM Workforce Pathways in South Carolina
$615,000 award funds undergraduate scholars, faculty mentors, and research infrastructure over four years
Hartsville, SC (08/27/2026) — Aug. 27, 2026 - The National Science Foundation's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) awarded $615,000 to Coker University as part of a $10 million grant to launch the South Carolina Collaborative Academic Pathways in STEM (SC-CAPS).
"This NSF grant levels the playing field for our students by expanding year-round faculty-mentored undergraduate research," said Joseph Flaherty, Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives at Coker University. "At larger universities, research opportunities are scarce-there are simply too many students and not enough slots. At Coker, if a student raises their hand and says 'I want to do research,' we can say yes."
The grant will support up to 16 Coker students annually through paid research experiences with faculty fellows. Selected students will receive $15 per hour for their work, well above the state's minimum wage rate of $7.25.
"Many of our students have a financial gap and need employment to afford their education. By building in paid work experience, we remove that barrier," Flaherty said. "Rather than working off-campus, a student can work with a faculty mentor on real research-and get paid for it. It's a win for the student and a win for our research capacity."
Students will be expected to work approximately 10 hours a week during the school year, with 15 hours a week allocated for summer undergraduate research.
Beyond student support, the grant provides stipends to five science faculty fellows to lead mentorship programming, engage in professional development, and strengthen Coker's research infrastructure.
"Students will engage in the full research lifecycle with our STEM faculty-from proposal writing to data collection and analysis-and share their findings at consortium symposia alongside peers from other SC-CAPS institutions. This collaborative network amplifies Coker's research visibility across the state."
Flaherty says the grant will also study Coker student success and career outcomes."We have goals of increased persistence in science and graduation rates," he said. "We'll collect data over time and track the students longitudinally into the workforce. The ultimate goal is to increase the workforce capacity in the sciences in South Carolina so that startup companies and other scientific industries can hire an educated workforce."
Coker is one of 11 Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs)-federally designated institutions that receive less than $50 million annually in federal research funding.
"Coker typically receives only $1-2 million per year, making this NSF grant transformative," Flaherty said.
The grant is awarded to SCRA and will be led by Dr. Nadim Aziz, South Carolina EPSCoR Director, who serves as Principal Investigator and Project Director. SC-CAPS connects a network of 11 academic institutions: Anderson University, Coastal Carolina University, Coker University, College of Charleston, Furman University, Lander University, Presbyterian College, South Carolina State University, University of South Carolina Upstate, Voorhees University, and Winthrop University.
About South Carolina EPSCoR
The South Carolina Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (SC EPSCoR) works to strengthen the state's research infrastructure and STEM competitiveness by building partnerships among South Carolina's colleges, universities, government, and industry. Administered through SCRA and the State EPSCoR Committee, SC EPSCoR helps the state's institutions compete for federal research funding and translates that research into economic and workforce development across South Carolina.
SC-CAPS is funded by the National Science Foundation under Award No. OIA-2539219.