Lowcountry Graduate Center
The Lowcountry Graduate Center is a public higher education consortium located in North Charleston, South Carolina, established in 2001 in order to expand opportunities for graduate-level education to the Charleston, SC region.History
In the late 1990s, Lowcountry business and legislative leaders were concerned that the region was losing high-tech companies because of the limitations in graduate education available in the area. What should have been a perfect setting for economic growth in the new economy – the nation’s fourth largest seaport, a center of Homeland Security activity and a region of ecological and historical richness – was hampered by the lack of graduate opportunities needed to attract and retain employees and new businesses.
Since its creation, the Lowcountry Graduate Center has brought together the power of these Lowcountry local public universities – The College of Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina and The Citadel. Through the LGC, these three institutions, plus the University of South Carolina and South Carolina State University, have formed new partnerships and new ways to bring graduate-level education to the Lowcountry, focusing on the economic development needs of the Charleston Metro Area. The LGC has also partnered with Clemson University and Anderson University in the past.
