The McNair Scholarship Program is seeking students for its program and will begin accepting applications on Monday, Sept. 10, 2012.
In order to qualify for the program, a student must be a first generation student and low income and/or underrepresented in graduate education, must have sophomore status or completed 40 credit hours by the start of the winter semester, are looking to pursue a Ph.D. and have at least a 3.0 GPA.
“Those students accepted will start taking part in workshops in the winter semester,” said Megan DelBello, McNair Scholars Program Coordinator. “Ultimately, their goal is to apply to graduate school and be accepted.”
The McNair Scholarship Program provides students with assistance in GRE preparation, one-on-one faculty mentorships to conduct research, attending and presenting materials at conferences and attending graduate school prep workshops, along with visiting regional research graduate programs. Students can also receive up to a $2,800 research stipend and participate in social events.
“The biggest thing for me is the opportunities; I’m in with faculty and doing paid research as an undergraduate,” said junior Zoology Honor’s student, Rozemary Howard. “The doors that open with the program are huge. I’ve been able to visit graduate schools, and I’ve shadowed with the veterinarian oncology team at MSU.”
The McNair Scholarship Program has been refunded for the next six years.
“Our focus and the Department of Education’s focus are to prepare and place students in Ph.D. programs,” said Heather Pickett, Director of the McNair Scholarship Program and Freshman Fellowship Program.
The program pays for nearly everything on a university trip to meet with prospective graduate programs. If a student wants to attend a research conference, the program will do as much as possible to cover the costs.
“We provide opportunity,” DelBello said, “The students take the initiative.”
This year the program is seeking sixteen open positions.
“Every April students participate in NMU’s Celebration of Student Works,” DelBello said. “They put together a poster outlining the research they did the previous summer with their faculty mentor.”
Students accepted for the McNair Scholarship Program will know by the end of this academic semester and will begin participating in workshops in the winter semester.
“One of the criteria we use to evaluate prospective new participants is their commitment to pursue a Ph. D.,” Pickett said. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure that every one of our students enters a Ph.D. program and graduates within 10 years and enters faculty ranks.”
The program works with 25 students each year, and the deadline for submitting an application is Monday, Nov. 5.
For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/mcnairscholars or call (906) 227-2560.
