For the 2008-2009 academic year, only academic units that are participating in the Graduate Enrollment Management (GrEM) pilot project will be eligible to award an incoming McNair graduate student with the McNair Graduate Fellowship. Previously awarded McNair fellowships will remain in effect.  Future McNair fellowships following the 2008-09 academic year will be reevaluated.

The Fellowship

The purpose of this fellowship is to encourage undergraduate McNair students who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree to attend graduate school at the University of Oklahoma.

The Ronald E. McNair program pairs academically promising undergraduate students with graduate faculty mentors. Working with this mentor, the student develops and conducts an original research project, and then publicly presents the research results. The McNair program prepares undergraduates for the high-level of academic excellence we expect in our graduate students.

The Award
The fellowship is a multi-year award based on the student's degree program (Masters or Doctoral). For the 2008-2009 academic year only, the Graduate College will award one new fellowship to one (1) new McNair graduate student in a participating GrEM academic unit. Continuation of the award is contingent upon the student making satisfactory progress towards the degree and the academic unit's on-going commitment to provide a Qualified Graduate Assistantship.

Each fellowship recipient will receive:

• Either a $5,000 stipend supplement for 4 years (doctoral students)
  or a $2,500 stipend supplement for 2 years (masters students)
• A full-tuition waiver during the time of the fellowship. However,
  the total amount of tuition waived will not exceed the total number of hours
  required to complete the degree.
• A subsidy for the basic student health insurance plan
• $500 in either travel or research support

Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the fellowship an applicant must

• hold a Qualified Graduate Assistantship in an academic unit on the Norman-campus that is participating in the Graduate Enrollment Management (GrEM) pilot project
• have successfully completed an undergraduate McNair program
• have at least a 3.50 admission grade point average

Nomination Process
Nomination materials must include the following:

• Nomination request, student & faculty performance contract, and letter of support from the chair of the academic unit (NOTE: an overall enrollment plan must also be submitted to the Graduate College before consideration)
• applicant's name
• a copy of the application packet (include University, Graduate College, and department admission materials)
• verification of completion of an undergraduate McNair program
• verification of assistantship