Apply to McNair Scholars Program
Applicants accepted in fall 2025 will be selected to participate in the spring/summer 2026 research cohort. At this time, we are only accepting applications for students who plan to graduate in fall 2026 or later.
Please review the following eligibility requirements from the U.S. Department of Education before proceeding with your application. There is a time commitment involved with program services. Participants will be required to attend a six-week research program at the University of Nevada, Reno, the summer following their acceptance into the program.
*The fall 2025 McNair Scholars Program application will open August 25, 2025. Review the steps below prior to submitting an application.
McNair Scholars Program Online Application
How to complete your McNair Scholars Program application
Complete online application, submit faculty or professional emails for evaluations, submit transcripts, tax documents, income verification form, and personal essay.
As part of your online application, you will need to provide the email addresses of two faculty members who will evaluate you for the program. Information regarding the essay requirements is listed below for reference.
Please limit your response to a total of two, typed, double-spaced pages.
- Who are you? Describe your family including parents' highest level of education and your educational background as well as your post-graduate study and career goals.
- Please define your understanding of the McNair Scholars Program philosophy and its primary goal.
- The University of Nevada, Reno McNair Scholars Program experience is stimulating, challenging, and demanding both in and out of the classroom. Why are you interested in such an experience and what are your reasons for wanting to be a McNair Scholar?
- Discuss what you hope to gain by becoming a McNair Scholar.
- Please describe your level of interest in an academic career, as well as your course load, extra-curricular, and general work commitments.
- Discuss any plans, financial, familial, or personal responsibilities you have that may interfere with your participation in the program.
If you have not submitted your tax documents with your application, you will be asked to bring them with you to your interview. Tax documentation required from the previous tax year's forms may include 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ copies (side 1 and 2 only).
All applications will be reviewed by a faculty committee and students will be invited for an interview. Students who are selected for the McNair Scholars Program interview process will be required to complete the Eligibility Signature Page Form along with any additional tax documentation required from the previous tax year's forms: 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ copies (side 1 & 2 ONLY), or a Statement of Non-Taxable Income.
Students will be selected to participate in the McNair Scholars program after interviews are completed.