WSSU research endeavors are centralized to three areas: health and social justice, community and economic development, and STEM innovation. As a Historically-Black College and University (HBCU) our researchers benefit from having access to specialized communities, and having diverse perspectives that institutions without our designation recruit for research collaborations.
Annual Figures 2018-19
450 Students Supported
91 Awards
$52.9 M Awarded
11 Research Centers
Research at WSSU has a global impact. The translational research we conduct helps communities that need our support most. The basic research we explore contributes to the disciplines in ways only HBCUs can. Supporting research at WSSU supports more than just WSSU students, it supports our communities.
Community Engaged Scholarship
North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network (NC-MSEN) is a community based project to recruit student grades 6-12 to pursue high level mathematics and science based courses by preparing them with Saturday Academy, the Summer Enrichment Program, tutoring, mathematics and science competitions, field trips, Parent Involvement for Excellence (PIE) Clubs, and leadership development.
CSEM’s B.I.G. Idea in Community Engagement is an integrative needs-based approach that connects businesses, individuals, and governments to help generate interventions and structural reform for the benefit of the community.
International Research through Study Abroad engages students in scholarship on a global level. Students develop multi-cultural perspectives by traveling to locations like South Africa, Brazil, or South Korea and participate in humanities and social science projects that are authentic to the local communities to which they travel.
WSSU Research In the News
WSSU Scholarship Week 2025 to showcase student and faculty research
March 25, 2025
WSSU's Office of Undergraduate Research will host its annual Scholarship Week from March 31 to April 4, 2025, celebrating academic excellence and innovative research under the theme, “Owning OUR ‘A’ Game: A Showcase of Visionaries.”
Winston-Salem State University’s Astrobotany Lab partners with former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe to expand HBCU space science research
March 07, 2025
Plant samples from Winston-Salem State University’s Astrobotany Lab will be on the first Blue Origin all-female mission to space this spring.
Redemption story: WSSU’s Merrills to return to France as Fulbright U.S. Scholar for Paris, Senegal
February 13, 2025
“I am thrilled to have gone from being an au pair in France in my youth to a Fulbright,” Merrills said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee while I was scrubbing floors and changing diapers in France as an au pair that I would one day return as a Fulbright.”
