Faculty are essential to a successful MMUF program on campus. As advisers and mentors to MMUF fellows, faculty members demystify the formal and informal aspects of conducting research, applying to graduate school, thriving once in a graduate program, earning the doctorate, and pursuing careers in teaching and higher education, publishing, leading institutions that support the arts and humanities, and engaging in public service. Furthermore, MMUF depends on faculty to identify and encourage promising students interested in the humanities and qualitative social sciences to apply to the program.
Research is central to the MMUF experience, and we provide fellows with an intensive, tailored, and ongoing research experience that begins earlier in their careers than is typical for most college undergraduates. Once admitted to the MMUF, students enter the Mellon Mays Summer Research Training Program (SRTP) during the summer following their second year in the College, where they complete coursework and benefit from mid-level mentoring and research development provided by Travis Jackson, Elise LaRose, advanced graduate student preceptors, senior lecturers, and postdoctoral instructors. Students also benefit from multiple workshops and community-building events while living and studying with Mellon Mays students from other programs across the country who join us for the summer. Following a Mellon Mays Fellow’s experience in the SRTP, we guide students toward courses that nourish their research and advise them on building relationships with faculty. By the time students reach their senior year, each Mellon Mays fellow is prepared and expected to conduct an individual research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor, which culminates in a final thesis paper and presentation, most often the BA thesis required by their major department. Read more about our core values here.
For Recommenders: The MMUF program admits second-year students who seek careers well served by research in the humanities and qualitative social sciences, and are seriously considering applying to a PhD program in a Mellon-designated field. MMUF alumni have pursued paths as administrators, teachers, researchers, and scholars in higher education. They have also assumed important roles in publishing, public service, archives, museums, and non-profit institutions.
Students admitted to the MMUF are mentored for two years. Please note, however, that we do not expect students to have identified a faculty mentor at the time of their application, nor do we expect you to commit to mentoring a student simply because you have generously agreed to write a recommendation. In fact, we encourage students we admit to build relationships with three faculty members over the next two years. In short, we do not expect applicants to have it all figured out before they apply!
Our approach to mentoring is staged and structured, but also highly individualized. Learning from you about a student’s intellectual development and potential as you have observed it thus far, and about the student’s aspirations and talents, will play an invaluable part in our consideration of a student’s application.
Please feel free to consult this page, which outlines the eligibility requirements and selection criteria for applicants.