Fayetteville State University isn’t just adjacent to one of the most powerful military installations in the world — it has become an essential part of its readiness.
With over 33% of its student body made up of military-affiliated individuals, the highest rate among any four-year HBCU in the nation, FSU has built an academic community where military service is woven into the university’s identity and purpose, setting the stage for a rare collaboration celebrated in both the academic and military sectors.
That collaboration took a major leap forward in February 2025, when FSU and the XVIII Airborne Corps signed a landmark Education Partnership Agreement, marking the first of its kind between the Corps and other institutions in the UNC System.
The agreement is for three years, followed by annual renewals.
It opens FSU’s research and training programs to military personnel worldwide, spanning seven STEM domains, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing, nanomaterials, logistics and supply chain and medicine.
FSU students will also have access to expanded education and hands-on military research projects, mentorship from defense professionals, and enhanced academic and career pathways, including internships and workforce development opportunities.
Under the agreement, students may work on defense laboratory projects and receive credit for it. And XVIII Airborne personnel may teach courses or assist in the development of courses and materials for FSU.
Education programs like this also keep military personnel closer to home.
“The new curriculum pipeline is certifying Army software developers and product managers right here in North Carolina, keeping soldiers with their units instead of sending them away for training,” says Mitchell Seal, associate vice chancellor for military affairs at FSU.
“We’re doing some amazing things, and we’re just getting started,” Seal said.
The results are already promising. FSU researchers are developing AI software for assessing battle damage and analyzing satellite imagery. The university is also using 3D-printing to develop prototypes for military equipment.
Under the agreement, the Army and the university will work on projects and programs that research, design, develop and apply solutions to enhance the nation’s security, economy, and general warfare. The partnership is set to facilitate knowledge transfer between the national security and academic communities relevant to technology innovation and commercialization.
“It’s a gamechanger,” Seal said, pointing to the alignment of the Department of Defense’s mission to provide the combat-credible military forces needed to deter war and ensure national security with FSU’s mission to provide high-quality, affordable education for a diverse student body, including military students.
FSU has long been focused on workforce training and awarding recognized credentials in many of its educational programs including nursing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, to name a few. This type of education is a good fit for the military’s needs and having these programs already in place at FSU allows the university to support government agencies, including the military, Seal said.
“By pairing our educational programming with the career fields under the Department of Defense and providing a pathway to earn industry recognized credentials to support those careers, we are adhering to the highest standards,” Seal said.FSU was recently designated as a new hub for NCInnovation, a publicly funded initiative to increase research commercialization in the region. The new agreement underscores FSU’s capabilities in defense-related education and research, further positioning the university as a catalyst for greater community collaboration.
Perhaps most striking is FSU policy of crediting military experience for up to 75% of a degree, compared to the national average of just 10-12%. FSU adheres to American Council on Education Military Guide recommendations, allowing military training to map directly to equivalent FSU coursework. It’s a streamlined process for military-affiliated students to convert training into academic credit, which often enables them to accelerate completion of their degree.
“The UNC system did a great job of assembling that plan, and over this past year we’ve added over 2000 course equivalencies based on military training into the Fayetteville State Catalog,” Seal said. “It’s a giant haystack of credits that students can put toward their degrees.”
The university is also one of the few non-military institutions in the nation to offer four-year tuition-free scholarships to military-affiliated students.
This is a story about a historically Black university redefining what academic-military partnership can look like — and producing the next generation of national security technologists in the process.
