Program Structure

The Ronald E. McNair Program is new to the University of Nevada, Reno and should you be selected for participation, you will be among the second cohort of scholars to benefit from the many services and financial support offered to participants. The goal of the Ronald E. McNair Program is to provide academic services, funding, and research opportunities to scholars with a strong interest in careers in research and academia.

Summer Program

Students who are accepted in the first cohort will immediately begin preparing for the summer research program. During the months of June and July, McNair Scholars will participate in the following activities:

A faculty-mentored summer research project
Training and preparation for the Graduate Record Exam
A course on research methodologies
Travel to research conferences and recruitment fairs
Opportunities to present preliminary research findings
A summer colloquium series covering topics such as how to select and apply to graduate programs, how to create a competitive portfolio for admission to graduate school, how to obtain funding for graduate study, developing public presentation skills and many other relevant topics

The program requires a 30 hour per week commitment during the summer. Scholars will not be able to maintain full-time employment while participating in the summer research program. To offset loss of income for summer employment, the McNair Program will provide a stipend of $2400 - $2800 plus meal plans.

Academic Year Program

Both cohorts will participate in the academic year program. The academic year program comprises:

Travel to research conferences and graduate schools
Presentation of research results
Assistance with writing for publication
Tutoring and advising
Assistance completing admissions forms and documents
Assistance with writing the personal statement for graduate admissions
A $400 stipend upon submission of the final write-up of research results for those who participated in the summer program

*The University of Nevada, Reno McNair Scholars Program is federally funded at $231,000.00 annually.