NOVEMBER 2007 VOLUME 4 NO. 3
McNair Grant Supports Undergraduate Research Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded University of California, Merced, with a Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant, which should give the university at least $220,000 each year for the next five years.
Over the course of those five years, the grant will allow 50 students, generally low-income or first-generation college students, to participate as McNair Scholars conducting research with UC Merced faculty during their junior and senior years. McNair Scholars receive up to $2,800 in the summer to support research-related expenses, such as travel or lodging. They also receive funding to attend national and international conferences with their professors, and to join professional organizations. The participants enjoy structured mentoring from graduate students and faculty, and they have access to a variety of special activities that help orient them to a scholarly career.
The goal of the McNair program, named for the African-American astronaut who died in the space shuttle Challenger explosion, is to increase the number of Ph.D. degrees earned by students from underrepresented groups.
“Research is an integral component of education in the University of California,” said Sam Traina, acting vice chancellor of research and acting dean of graduate studies at UC Merced. “The McNair program will increase our ability to develop UC research experiences for undergraduates in the San Joaquin Valley. Working as integral members of the research teams of UC faculty will open additional doors for these students.”