USC Aiken’s Cybersecurity Program gets $25K boost
AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) — A local cybersecurity firm is making a game-changing contribution to USC Aiken. SteelGate donated $25,000 to USC Aiken, creating scholarships for cybersecurity and computer science students. “We partner with them for internships primarily, but they heard about our scholarship, program and they saw the need for that pipeline to help keep some of these kids around here for our workforce in this area,” Dean of Sciences and Engineering Dr. Scott McKay said.
The scholarship targets computer science students with a 3.0 GPA, aiming to grant 25 awards of $1,000 each. “We piloted last year scholarship programs at the high schools and they seemed very interested this year,” he recalled.
Beyond financial aid, SteelGate offers internships and possible capstone projects to provide practical experience. “The students will spend a year doing projects or working with industry. And we have about 40 wonderful industries just here in the region or so that we work with two on internship programs and capstones,” Dr. McKay shared.
USCA’s strategic location near the Cyber Center in Georgia and upcoming facilities like the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative underscore its role in the region’s tech evolution. “All that’s gonna need the cyber professionals or computer science professionals, whether it’s software engineering or AI data science, and also very much cybersecurity,” he added.
The recruitment process includes sending letters to high schools and using an online form for applications. Students can apply for the scholarship this fall. They will be awarded fall 2025. Leaders aim to expand the program to include all high schools and offer multiple scholarships.
