A constantly growing need for trained electrical engineers has prompted USCA to add to its degree program catalog.
In a news release, USCA said the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) will focus on teaching students how to design, test, build, and maintain electrical and electronic systems. It will be launched in the Fall 2026 semester.
Scott McKay, Dean of the College of Sciences and Engineering, told ABD that adding the new program was a lengthy process.
“We basically got a ground swell of interest from our regional industry and our regional stakeholders that more electrical engineers are needed to stay in the CSRA area,” he explained. “We engaged our engineering Advisory Board, which has constituents from all over the CSRA, and then finally, we actually built an ad hoc electrical engineering which had electrical engineers from those bodies.”
McKay said the Aiken-Augusta area is a growing hub for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and cyber demands. It took three years to create the infrastructure and begin to hire faculty to support the program.
“We received funding, and we put in a lot of facilities and put in a lot of equipment towards expanding our engineering programs until we knew we could afford putting in a really good program with everything that’s needed to build a modern electrical engineering program,” he said. “That’s why this took so long with our engineering advisory board to really build our curriculum. Ours is really concentrating on power systems, on control systems for especially critical infrastructure, for obvious reasons, with the (Savannah River) Site.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that demand for electrical engineers is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade. The engineering program at USCA will help address the need for trained engineers in economic development and the workforce pipeline.
The timing of the new degree program comes at a particularly advantageous time for USCA. Groundbreaking was held in late May to kick off construction of the 26,000 sq. ft. Cyber Integration Center (CIC), a partnership with the South Carolina National Guard. Target opening is summer 2026.
A more immediate project is the Advanced Manufacturing Collaboration (AMC). It is expected to open later this year. That 60,000 sq. ft. facility will provide space for advanced manufacturing research and development while developing innovative technologies for the commercial sector.
“It’s sort of like Disney World for scientists and engineers here right now,” quipped McKay. “Our engineering department will be moving into the SRNL (Savannah River National Laboratory) Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative come July. Not only are we sharing a lot of equipment and things with the National Lab, but we’re going to have the students in those laboratories, and this should really foster a huge amount of collaboration between our engineering students, our engineering faculty, and all the wonderful scientists and engineers at the AMC.”
McKay said partnerships with the AMC and CIC, combined with expanding electrical engineering education, can persuade the next generation of trained workers to stay in the CSRA, while attracting others to move here.
“That’s the important thing, and our primary mission is workforce development to support economic growth,” he said. “The good thing about USC-Aiken is that we have a very large percentage, well over 70% of our students graduate, and they stay in the CSRA in South Carolina. Then you have these wonderful facilities, which can attract students from all over the country to come here.”
Student enrollment is expected to be 15 for the first class in the Fall 2026, growing to 60 students in five years. That will be both full-time and part-time students. Students interested in the BSEE program but entering Fall of 2025 will have the opportunity to complete a year of prerequisites that will meet the requirements of the BSEE.
