January 20, 2011 | Centers & Programs

Candidates Sought for Mellon Mays Fellowship

Program promotes diversity, seeks sophomores interested in pursuing Ph.D.'s in arts and sciences

Northwestern University has announced an initiative to promote scholarship and diversity through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program. Interested sophomores are invited to attend an information session at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 in Hardin Hall to learn more about the program and the process for application and selection. Pizza and refreshments will be served.

The Northwestern Mellon Mays advisory committee will appoint up to five fellows this spring. The program includes a summer research opportunity and general programming throughout the academic year.

The Office of the President and the MMUF program seek sophomores for the fellowship, which provides two years of mentorship, research and other support for junior and senior undergraduates contemplating careers in teaching and research. Those who complete a Ph.D. can receive up to $10,000 in support for undergraduate educational loans.

Sponsored by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the MMUF program (external link here) aims to increase the number of minority students and others who will pursue Ph.D.'s in a wide variety of fields with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities. The fields include but are not limited to American and English literatures, anthropology, art history, computer science, history, foreign languages, mathematics, physics and religion. The program's long-term goal is to reduce the underrepresentation of individuals from certain minority groups on college and university faculties, as well as to address the attendant educational consequences of these existing disparities.

For more information, contact MMUF program coordinators at mmuf@northwestern.edu.