Built for South Carolina. Built for what’s next 

In a historic show of support, MUSC has received a $50 million anonymous donation – the largest in its 200-year history – to help transform health care and medical education in South Carolina. This landmark investment comes at a critical time for the state and will accelerate efforts to train more physicians, support cutting-edge research and bring a long-awaited new College of Medicine building to life. 

The $175 million project, which broke ground in December 2024, marks MUSC’s first new medical education facility in over a century. As College of Medicine Dean Terrence E. Steyer, M.D., explains, this new space is about far more than bricks and mortar. It’s a leap forward in how the university will educate, inspire and retain the next generation of physicians who will care for South Carolina. 

MUSC has trained physicians for more than a century without a dedicated College of Medicine building. Why is now the right time – and how will this investment shape the future of health care in our state? 

We’ve made incredible strides in our 200-year history, and we’ve trained more than 10,000 physicians. But in recent years, to be honest, we’ve done so in spite of our space. We have faculty spread across our campus and our medical education team is currently located in four buildings.   

We need to create a central space where our students, staff and faculty can come together to collaborate, innovate and tackle the most pressing challenges of our time.   

Our accrediting body agrees: improved space is essential. 

What will the new building allow you to do that you can’t do today? 

It will centralize our medical education team, so that we can more effectively support students and faculty. It will allow our teams to deliver education in a different way – with active learning classrooms reimagined with modern technology, movable structures and a degree of flexibility we don’t currently have – and will provide a true home for our medical students.    

It will also provide a home for alumni, both for daily interaction and large events, which will foster enhanced engagement and connectivity.   

Most importantly, this building will allow us to grow our medical school class in a meaningful way, to help meet the state’s urgent need for more doctors. 

What are you most excited about? 

This building represents how important medical education is to MUSC, and to our state. It says that MUSC intends to do what is needed to take health care to the next level in South Carolina and beyond. I believe that we can – and will – do just that.    

It’s also deeply affirming to see that belief shared by our donors. Thanks to the most significant gift in MUSC’s history, we can move forward with even greater speed and ambition. That kind of support inspires everyone on our team to think bigger. 

Will this deepen the student experience? 

Yes! Every square foot was designed with student and faculty input, with shared spaces to foster connection and support well-being. There are study areas, indoor and outdoor gathering spots and collaborative zones that make learning feel more connected and less siloed. 

South Carolina faces a critical shortage of physicians. How will this new College of Medicine building help expand access to local, timely care for patients and families across the state?   

By supporting top-tier medical education and creating an environment where future providers want to train and practice, we can help improve access to care statewide. 

This new building gives us the space to admit more students and expand our medical school class to train the number of physicians needed to meet this growing shortage. 

It will also elevate the student experience to ensure our graduates are prepared to deliver the care communities across South Carolina need most. 

What does this represent for patients waiting for care? 

It’s a tangible step forward in our commitment to elevating and expanding health care across South Carolina. We are working to retain the brightest and best for our state, and that starts with world-class medical education and facilities.  

And we’re doing it not just with bold ideas, but with bold investments. That includes the $50 million gift that’s helping us reimagine what’s possible. 

This building is one piece of a bigger plan. How does it fit into MUSC’s broader strategy to grow – and keep – our own doctors here in South Carolina?   

There are many components that affect how we can attract and retain the best physicians for our state. These include keeping our state’s most competitive medical school applicants in the state and encouraging our medical school graduates to stay in South Carolina for residency training.   

Both greatly increase the likelihood that a graduate will stay in the state to practice.  

• Groundbreaking: Dec. 13, 2024 
• Opening: Summer 2027 
• Size: 186,000 square feet 
• Estimated cost: $175 million 
• Largest gift in MUSC history: $50 million 
• Location: President and Bee Street