Student Research
Why wait until after college to do what you love when you can get hands-on research experience right now? Our designation as an R-1 research university affords you the opportunity to conduct important research in your field of study.
Undergraduate research opportunities
Graduate research opportunities
Research Facilities, Centers and Institutes
Our research facilities encourage innovation among our faculty and students, provide
services to residents and commercial enterprises in South Carolina, and are used by
visiting researchers.
Math and Science
Learning to care for our incredible coast requires a hands-on approach. That’s why, in addition to our lab facilities in Columbia, we study in our 17,500-acre living laboratory at the coast.
The Center for Colon Cancer Research, the first of its kind in the state, was established in 2002 to conduct innovative research to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancers.
The Center for Elemental Mass Spectrometry is a core analytical facility and cost center, used primarily by faculty and students in the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment.
The Electron Microscopy Center is a core facility providing all levels of technical support and consultation in the area of light microscopy, electron microscopy and elemental analysis.
More and more we depend on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data. Our center is committed to refining and improving the systems, consulting with users and providing advanced training.
Lives and property can be saved if we can learn what a disaster, like a hurricane, will do before it occurs. The institute studies planning, responses and works to identify trends in natural disasters.
Unlocking the mysteries of the mind-brain connection is one of the great scientific challenges of the 21st century. The University of South Carolina is poised to become a world leader in cognitive neuroscience research with the establishment of the Institute for Mind and Brain.
The Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute is an internationally recognized mathematics research center, fostering advanced research and creating solutions for real-world problems.
A magnetometer with field strength up to 7 Tesla, sensitivity of <10-7 emu and temperature range from 1.8 - 350 K is available in the Magnetic Measurement Facility.
The Mass Spectrometry Center includes two VG 70S instruments, a Finnigan TSQ, Micromass Q-TOF I, Micromass Quattro LC, Bruker Ultraflex MALDI TOF/TOF, and other chromatographic apparatus that can be configured with the instruments.
At The McCausland Center, researchers and students explore one of the greatest frontiers in science: the brain.
Bringing an idea to life is a critical step. Our facility, equipped with an array of equipment and qualified staff, can turn a drawing into a working assembly.
The NMR Core Facility is part of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It is the only high resolution NMR facility at UofSC and provides services to other local universities and industrial clients.
Our Powder X-Ray Diffraction Facility comprises a Rigaku Ultima IV powder X-ray diffraction system and a Rigaku D/Max 2100 powder X-ray diffractometer.
The center provides scientific computational research services involving high performance computing systems for processing large data simulations and running complex calculations.
The Center for Science Education is committed to creating better science educators through training, program development and specialized training.
The Single Crystal X-Ray Diffraction Facility operates a Bruker D8 Quest diffractometer with sample operating temperatures of 90 to 300 K.
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
A joint initiative of the College of Arts and Sciences and University Libraries, the center seeks to bring out civil rights history to life and inspire an informed dialogue about today's social justice issues.
Established in 2008, the nonprofit Confucius Institute is a joint program of the Beijing Language and Culture University and the University of South Carolina promoting Chinese language education, and educational, cultural and business exchanges between South Carolina and China.
The center supports various types of innovations in the use of digital technology for research, teaching and public outreach in the humanities and related disciplines.
The History Center nurtures scholarship and engages with the community to promote the historical craft.
Established in 2007 to encourage the scholarly study and public understanding of race and black life, the Institute for African American Research achieved official status from the Board of Directors on April 7, 2009, and on June 17, 2009, from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
As the state where the Civil War began, South Carolina has always been at the forefront of the history of the American South. The Institute for Southern Studies (ISS) at the University of South Carolina helps tell this important story.
The Parenting and Family Research Center conducts studies aimed at understanding and promoting the well-being of children in the context of family, school and community.
How has human life and culture evolved over the millennia? To study this crucial question, the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology was established in 1963 as a University of South Carolina research institute and a State cultural resource management agency.
The Walker Institute is home to six minor degree programs that engage students in the interdisciplinary study of world affairs and cross-cultural understanding.