The South East Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (SEAGEP) unites a group of institutions that have considerable experience in higher education diversity programs, a history of collaboration, and together have enormous capacity with respect to both opportunities for graduate studies as well as large numbers of undergraduate students in technical fields.

The SEAGEP Program includes The University of Florida as the lead institution with two primary partners - Clemson University (CU) and The University of South Carolina (USC). SEAGEP unites three Research Extensive institutions that combined offer PhD degrees in over 50 STEM fields, offering unparalleled opportunities for graduate studies. Secondary partners are the Florida-Georgia Louis B. Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (FGLSAMP), the South Carolina Louis B. Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (SCAMP) and the University of the U.S. Virgin Islands. SEAGEP also provides international opportunities for students through a collaboration with the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI).

UF is the flagship institution of the State of Florida University System, earning 43% ($539,364,730) of all research, service and training funding awarded to the entire state system in 2002-03, providing extraordinary opportunities for graduate research. UF ranked third in degrees awarded to African American students in 2000-01 and fifth among AAU public universities in the number of PhDs awarded to Latino students. It ranks second and third respectively in the state in Hispanic and African American graduate enrollments, and 5th and 13th in the same categories among AAU institutions. According to the Engineering Workforce Commission (2002), in 2001 UF ranked in the top 10 institutions for producing minority engineering baccalaureates, particularly among Latinos. In addition, UF has been identified as an "emerging" Hispanic serving institution. Among Florida schools, UF is 1st in the retention of both Hispanic and African American students.

USC ranks in the top 100 Universities nationwide in terms of research expenditures, with continuous improvement over the last 5 years. One of the biggest success stories is the Department of Chemical Engineering, which started with a "baseline" of one minority PhD student in 1998 and now has 12 such students (representing approximately 18% of its total PhD enrollment). USC has recognized the need to promote diversity in graduate education and preparation for the Professoriate in STEM fields, and established the African American Professors Program (AAPP) 7 years ago. Approximately 20 African American PhD students from all disciplines participate in this program and are prepared through intensive mentoring, participation in seminars on key topics, and in national professional meetings. USC has a very diverse undergraduate student body. African American STEM undergraduate enrollments over the last five years range between 18 and 20%. USC has developed a culture of undergraduate research and hosts 6 NSF-REU sites (in Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Experimental Psychology, and Materials Research).

U.S. News & World Report ranks CU 35th among all public national universities. It has almost doubled research funding in the past three years. The NSF Center for Advanced Engineering and Fibers and Films is one of only 20 Engineering Research Centers in the country. CU is home to over 25 STEM research centers including the Institute of Environmental Toxicology (a 38,000 square foot research facility working on the mechanisms of how chemicals exert their toxicity and how variability in individual organisms can lead to sensitivity or resistance in a wide array of species.), The South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies (SCIES), and The Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET), an internationally recognized program focused on cutting edge research, education, and technology transfer on materials for optical fiber and related photonic technologies. CU ranks 5th in graduating black engineering students at non-historically black colleges and the retention-to-graduation rate for African American freshman in engineering and science is 44% higher than the national average. CU has established a Council on Community Diversity, held a Diversity Summit in 2002, hosted a national conference on effective recruiting, retention, and support for black students, and held a Best Practices Conference in 2002.