Claflin's 16 black graduates in those fields exceeded the number from the College of Charleston, which had 10 such graduates, and Clemson University, which had nine.
Claflin's black science graduates have gone on to graduate programs at schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University and Johns Hopkins University.
James Stroman II, a 19-year old freshman, hopes to follow in their footsteps.
Becoming a doctor has been a dream since childhood, when he first heard the stories of how his mother got an infection from medical tools used as she gave birth to him.
Only the diligent work of his mother's doctor saved them, Stroman was told.
But as the years went by, his mother's health never fully recovered. She recently died, but not before seeing her son become a star student at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High.
He was a drum major, sang in the concert choir, performed on a step team and was vice president of his senior class. Stroman graduated third in his class and was accepted at Clemson and Morehouse College.
But he had participated in a program at Claflin called Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, which was designed to raise college enrollment rates and standardized test scores in Orangeburg County.
It was through that program that Stroman had a chance to spend time at Claflin and eventually meet the doctor whose work saved his life and gave his mother 19 more years.
"He said if not for his religious faith, he wouldn't be the obstetrician he is today," Stroman said.
Stroman's mind was made up: He'd be an obstetrician, too, and he wouldn't have to go far to get an early start on the training he'd need.
"I looked at the science program at Claflin, and it was best for me," he said.
A talk with Verlie Tisdale, dean of Claflin's School of Natural Science and Mathematics, sealed the deal.
"She took me in her office and said, 'The future is yours. Everything you need to succeed is here. It's just a matter of how much you want it,'" Stroman recalled.
Tisdale has seen Stroman's like before -- talented, ambitious students with big dreams. She keeps a chart on her office wall that lists where Claflin's science graduates have gone to graduate school and what they're studying.
The wall chart is a reminder of past successes and an inspiration to current students, she said.
"When they see it, the first thing they say is, 'My name's going to be on that wall,'" she said.
Angela Peters, chairwoman of Claflin's chemistry department, said it's not a smooth path to a spot on that wall.
"We tell them, 'You will work here,'" she said. "'It is going to be hard. But in the end, it is worth it.'"
Tisdale said much of Claflin's success can be traced to a study done several years ago, which identified several courses -- general chemistry, college algebra, pre-calculus -- that were stopping science students in their tracks.
Claflin put together a summer program -- a boot camp, students and professors call it -- that introduces accepted students to campus and gives them a chance to work through a couple tough courses with the guidance of student peers.
And in the fall and spring, Peters said Claflin closely monitors the work of its science students. Any who earn less than a "C" in core classes are required to get supplemental instruction three evenings per week.
"We do what we can as a faculty," Peters said. "We can't study for you. We can't make you go to class."
Nankwanga Cherry, a 2000 Claflin graduate who now helps the university in recruiting and advisement, said students learn quickly that help is one raised hand or one knock on the door away.
"It's a nurturing environment," she said. "Aside from the office hours, it's pretty much open door. We do get personal with the students."
Rebecca Bullard-Dillard, assistant vice president for research, said the new research building will go a long way to helping Claflin keep the momentum it has built in recruiting, retaining and graduating science students.
The building was paid for with funding from BlueCross BlueShield, the U.S. Department of Defense and federal appropriations secured with the help of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
One of Claflin's signature scientific research projects -- an effort to decontaminate mustard gas -- will be housed in the new building.
Claflin's biology faculty will stand at 20 this fall, a big boost from the five who worked there in 2000, Bullard-Dillard said. And the school is already using the building to bring in more researchers.
Alumni will be proud of what they see when they get a chance to tour the building, said Lee Tant, assistant director of public relations.
That pride won't hurt the school's effort to become the first historically black college or university to have a 50 percent alumni donation rate, he said. Right now, it stands at 39 percent.
Tisdale said Claflin's recruiting efforts are a big reason why it has had success in producing science graduates.
Many of the school's students come from single-parent homes, she said, and those parents want to know that their son or daughter is going to a place where their future will be bright.
"We don't just recruit that student," Tisdale said. "We recruit that parent."
