MRASC was formally established in October 2004 by Maryland's five Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MSIs) - Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University, Sojourner Douglass College, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore - to encourage cooperation among the member institutions and establish a consortium of educational, scientific, and engineering research interest to expand the research capabilities of the member institutions.

The member institutions firmly believe that the formation of the Consortium is a unique opportunity to overcome structural barriers to the greater participation in our nations major science and technology objectives by researchers at minority serving institutions. The Consortium will help achieve this goal by encouraging the creation of interdisciplinary, interscholastic research teams with capabilities beyond those of individual member institutions. This collaborative research model will result in additional resources and support for talented individual researchers at our member institutions.