Program Components
11 strategies used by the McNair staff to place students into programs leading to doctoral study include:
1. The Summer Research Institute
The Summer Research Institute is the "capstone" activity for motivating and preparing highly qualified students for doctoral study. McNair Summer Research Fellows are invited to apply in late January based upon grades and credits earned. When accepted as a fellow, students are then matched with faculty members within their major field of study. Faculty mentors guide each scholar's research project and prepare students for more advanced study. Thirty-five faculty mentors in twenty-three University of Illinois departments have mentored Illinois students during the McNair Summer Institute. The scholars enroll in the Institute receive college credit, attend weekly seminars, and work closely with their mentors for an average of over thirty hours each week. Besides their research with faculty mentors, students attend seminars each week on motivational and informational topics that include: How to Write a Research Paper; The Life of a Graduate Student; Academic Culture; Successful Graduate School and Financial Aid Applications, Graduate School Funding Opportunities, Effective Research Presentations and The Curriculum Vitae.
A) Student Requirements
- Contact and confirm the participation of a faculty advisor to support and supervise the research program.
- Spend 30-plus hours per week on the research project. Students are expected to meet and consult with their advisor on a regular basis throughout the term.
- Attend regular workshops, lectures, informal faculty meetings, visits to other campuses, and weekly student/staff meetings.
- Submit an abstract and give an oral presentation about their summer research.
- Submit a final research paper that should reflect the time spent engaged in research (15-20 pages).
- Complete the entire nine-week program
B) Faculty Requirements
- Be on campus most of the summer session to direct and supervise the student's research.
- Develop the research project with the student. The project may be part of the faculty member's ongoing research or may be developed by the student in consultation with the faculty member.
- Determine the number of hours of academic credit to be awarded.
- Evaluate the student's performance with a letter grade.
- Evaluate the work of the student and the program at the conclusion of the summer term.
- Make every effort to attend the student's oral presentation and the banquet in the latter part of the program.
- Each faculty member will receive a research allowance to help support the cost of the student's research.
C) Stipend
Each student receives a stipend of at least $2,800 distributed periodically over the nine-week program. Stipends will be awarded as students fulfill requirements that comply with the guidelines set forth by the McNair Scholars Program and the U.S. Department of Education. Students from low-income families may apply for a summer room and board allowance.
D) Eligibility
The McNair Scholars Program will be offered on a competitive basic for the following students: all OMSA participants, other U of I students who are from low-income families or in the first generation completing a baccalaureate degree, as well as students applying from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who will be juniors or seniors during the summer term and who have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75/4.0.
2. Research Methodologies Course
During spring semester 2005, OMSA offers a full-semester credit-bearing course designed to introduce aspiring summer research participants to different methods of research inquiry. All course participants explore both qualitative and quantitative methods, receive instruction in writing abstracts and research proposals, and prepare for the Graduate Record Exam.
3. The McNair Academic Year Program
Not all students are able to invest a summer in the Research Institute. Therefore, in order to provide as many students as possible with motivation and information about pursuing graduate study, interested sophomores and juniors are offered an opportunity to attend monthly seminars during the academic year. Students spend only two hours per month in group seminar meetings, which feature presentations on the following topics: The Life of a Graduate Student; Ron McNair: an Inspired Life; What Do Faculty Really Do?; Research: Qualitative Versus Quantitative; The Summer Institute Experience; and What to Do Now to Get Ready to Apply. Approximately 40 students participate in the previous years’ Academic Year program. During the fall of their senior year, both Academic Year and Summer Institute participants receive individualized assistance with graduate school applications, including writing effective personal statements and seeking successful faculty reference letters.
4. Referrals to the Educational Equity Programs Office of the Graduate College
The Graduate College's Educational Equity Programs Officehas been an invaluable gateway to graduate school for McNair Scholars, EOP, President's Award Program participants, and other students. The Graduate College helps McNair Scholars to identify graduate programs within the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) and around the country. Minority students, including McNair academic year participants, are strongly encouraged to apply for the McNair Summer Institute as well as to the Summer Research Opportunities Program, which is administered by the graduate college. In addition, the McNair staff provides eligible and interested students with information about McNair programs at other institutions. Currently, more than two hundred colleges and universities offer application fee waivers for McNair Scholars. The Graduate College also offers a McNair fellowship available each fall to one or more incoming graduate students who were McNair scholars as undergraduates.
5. Campus Visits
McNair Scholars visit graduate schools across the nation including The Ohio State University, Michigan State University and Northwestern University. Representatives from these graduate schools provide seminars on admissions and financial aid. Students meet with representatives from graduate schools and various academic departments for the purpose of discussing student life and meeting faculty and graduate students. During previous summer institute experiences, past participants were able to make research presentations at the University of California at Berkeley McNair Conference and at the Annual National McNair Research Conference held in southern Wisconsin.
6. Bridging the Financial Aid/Admissions Gap
In addition to the small group sessions on financial aid possibilities, students receive one‑on-one assistance in completing financial aid applications. Admissions staff at the universities previously listed provide important information on securing admission at competitive colleges and universities. Graduate Staff from each institution are enthusiastic about meeting with the McNair Fellows and express the hope that their recruiting efforts will be successful.
7. Post Program Mentoring
Efforts are made to bond McNair fellows with a TRIO or other minority support program as well as to the host graduate college when students attend graduate school at other universities. Staff use the Mid‑America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP), the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), and the Council of Graduate School (CGS) directories as resources.
8. Using Campus Events
The Career Center hosts an annual graduate school conference at the Illini Union. The OMSA staff encourages McNair participants and other underrepresented students to visit the fair in order to collect materials and meet graduate college representatives from across the nation. In addition, we work closely with the President's Leadership Program to identify opportunities for students who are considering professional school preparation programs. Through many such initiatives, OMSA's career development unit and staff help students achieve their goals.
9. Graduate School Library Materials
The McNair Program and OMSA encourage students to identify programs of interest, while networking directly with faculty and admissions representatives. The office has developed a library of information about graduate schools, including the addresses of appropriate web sites. In addition, the McNair Program has GRE and other graduate school application aids available for student use.
10. GRE Preparation
During the 2005 Summer McNair Institute, participants completed a GRE preparation course, which included pre and posttests, as well as several hours of instruction each week. Participants will also receive GRE fee waiver vouchers when they take the actual test in late summer or early fall.
11. Conferences
The Director has chaired each of the thirteen annual National McNair Research Conferences in southern Wisconsin. Traditionally held in early November under the sponsorship of the MidAmerica Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, over 600 students and staff from McNair programs around the nation attend annually. In addition, UIUC McNair scholars attended the 2004 Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel McNair Conference hosted by the University of Tennessee in July and the University of California’s McNair Conference in August. As has been the case for the past several years, the Summer Institute will end with a travel opportunity to The Ohio State University’s annual Graduate School Visitation Program for McNair Scholars in early August.
In conclusion, we are very pleased with the commitment made during the summer and academic year by our faculty mentors. Their support ensures that students are successful after they complete the McNair Research Institute.
Currently we have alumni at the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Chicago, Cornell, Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Duke, Harvard, Maryland at College Park, Minnesota, Ohio State, Loyola, Michigan, Indiana, Penn State, Iowa, Stanford, Southern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Washington University at St. Louis, SUNY Binghamton, Columbia, Northwestern, Temple, New York University, Yale and the University of California, among others. The University of Illinois-Urbana’s Graduate College has been the major beneficiary of the McNair Program.
