N.C. Central Wins $4.9 Million Federal Grant to Grow Research and STEM Career Pathways

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has been awarded $4.9 million by the US Department of Education to expand its research programmes and open up more opportunities for students, the university announced on October 21.

The 48-month initiative is designed to speed NCCU’s progress towards Carnegie Research 2 (R2) status — a classification for universities with high levels of research activity that award at least 20 research doctorates a year. A central goal is to increase both doctoral enrolment and graduation rates, strengthening the university’s position in fields where it wants to compete nationally, including biotechnology, biomanufacturing and artificial intelligence.

Three areas of investment

The funding will be spread across three priorities. First, NCCU will modernise its research systems and spaces, upgrading shared facilities, technology, data systems and the administrative processes that support grant-funded work. Second, faculty will receive training, mentoring and seed funding to help them compete for larger external grants. Third, the university will strengthen what it calls the student-to-scholar pipeline, giving students hands-on research experience, financial support, mentoring and career preparation at undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels.

The package includes $360,000 in stipends for doctoral students and $240,000 in assistantships for undergraduate and master’s students. Each year it is expected to support three doctoral fellows, around three master’s students and six to eight undergraduate researchers.

Momentum beyond the campus

The award arrived a day after NCCU reported that its economic impact across North Carolina had reached $735.5 million, an increase of nearly $250 million since 2021, based on a study conducted with UNC-Chapel Hill and NCGrowth. Chancellor Dr. Karrie G. Dixon said the university’s impact can be seen in the students it educates, the communities it serves and the workforce it strengthens.

For students weighing graduate study, the grant signals growing research capacity — and funded places — at one of the country’s leading historically Black universities.

Source: HBCU News