The South Carolina Space Grant Consortium was formed in 1991, designated as a "Capability Enhancement" state. Under the NASA mandate for "Capability Enhancement" states, the SCSGC works to increase the State's aerospace related research infrastructure. The SCSGC members devise programs to encourage researcher and students to conduct aerospace related research and to address the science education pipeline problem. The SCSGC was originally composed of four institutions of higher learning, and in 1996, the Consortium grew to 10 member institutions, nine in South Carolina and one in the Virgin Islands. In 1998, the Medical University of South Carolina joined our Consortium and in 2007, Francis Marion University and Claflin University joined. These 13 institutions provide a balanced program of education, research, public service, and include both women and minority student populations. These member institutions provide a NASA contact at nearly all four-year colleges and the three research universities in South Carolina and the US Virgin Islands.

The members of the SCSGC acknowledge the importance of enhancing the diversity of the future workforce. Consequently, the SCSGC has developed competitive and open programs that encourage a broad spectrum of participation in NASA related research and exploration activities. Our scholarship and fellowship programs offer the opportunity of support to graduate and undergraduate students on every campus. Our Consortium encourages women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities to apply for these competitive scholarships. Along with serving our member universities, the Consortium assists K-12 science, technology, and math educators in support of building a future workforce. SC is also the lead Consortium for the Southeast Regional Clearinghouse (SERCH), a NASA Space Science broker/facilitator for the southeast's 14 Space Grant consortia.