McNair Scholars: Apply or nominate potential grad students

Undergraduate students who have stood out in the classroom and have an interest in graduate school can apply or be nominated to join the next cohort of SOU’s McNair Scholars Program. The application deadline for spring interviews is Friday, May 30.

The McNair program, a U.S. Department of Education initiative that began at SOU in 2003, is considered a graduate school preparatory program of activities and instruction that participants can engage in throughout a calendar year or longer. Students can be from any academic major, must have completed at least two terms of college and can enter the program as sophomores, juniors or early in their senior years.

To apply for the program, nominate a student or learn more, email McNair@sou.edu or visit SOU’s McNair Scholars Program website. Nomination emails should include the student’s name and email address.

The program is named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, who was a member of the Challenger space shuttle’s seven-person crew that met a tragic end in a 1986 explosion. As a tribute to his achievements, Congress and the McNair family formed the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program in 1989 to assist young people in following McNair’s path and taking the initiative to chart their own academic paths.

It is intended to help underrepresented and first-generation undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds to prepare for research-intensive doctoral programs. However, SOU faculty members have traditionally nominated any students they feel may have the ability and desire to complete graduate school, and eligibility is sorted out during the application process.

SOU’s McNair program has provided an intensive research experience and graduate school preparation to nearly 200 students since its inception. As many as 28 students are selected for each year’s cohort of McNair Scholars.

The SOU program offers one-on-one guidance from faculty mentors as it helps participants complete their undergraduate degrees, enroll in graduate school and prepare for doctoral studies. Scholars complete an eight-week research internship in the summer, attend weekly seminars to help prepare them for testing and graduate school applications, and travel to national McNair conferences and graduate program visitations.