AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) – USC Aiken is helping students figure out their “dream job” after their four years at the university come to an end.

USC Aiken prides itself in the opportunities available to students no matter the program they’re interested in. 

“We spend a lot of time talking to our students about the need to build those professional experiences into their programs, and of course, some of those are built into the classroom,” Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Darren Timmons said.

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Darren Timmons tells me multiple programs at USC Aiken can benefit with the financial support of local organizations.

“SRNS, SRNL, SRMC… they’ve provided a number of funding opportunities for our engineering programs, for our virtual reality programs, and we actually have some partnerships with students in political science and communication as well.”

One program, called the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, is expected to be a great learning experience for students.

“The Savannah River National Lab will be on campus. An outpost of that with a hundred scientists and engineers will be on campus, and our students will be in and out of that facility everyday. That’ll be the home of our engineering program and our computational chemistry– Virtual reality opportunities as well,” Timmons said.

And to make sure students excel beyond their four years at USC Aiken, administration works with them from the very beginning on things like internships. 

“Our director spends a lot of time connecting with organizations, with industry and finding those opportunities. So, we talk with our students from orientation of freshman year about the importance of, not just their degree program, but finding ways to engage in their discipline,” Timmons said. 

Timmons says, on behalf of the university, he’s happy these programs exist. 

“It’s not just that they can go to the one place that they’ve connected with already, but the kind of education that’s gonna last them a lifetime, and the kind of experiences that are gonna help the get started right away,” Timmons said.