The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Writing and Research Training Program at UCLA is a six-week writing and research summer program for 20 current Mellon Mays Fellows from participating Mellon Mays colleges and universities. Fellows participate in a rigorous scholarly writing and research methodology course, individual and group mentoring sessions, workshops, events, and a final research colloquium. The program also includes on-campus housing and a meal allowance.
The summer program is part of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship aims to diversify the professoriate by increasing the number of faculty from underrepresented groups and by supporting those with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities in higher education.
PROGRAM DETAILS
- The program is six weeks: Sunday, June 23 – Saturday, August 3, 2019.
- The centerpiece of the program is an intensive scholarly writing and research methodology course. In addition to working on their individual research projects, students learn to write in disciplinary contexts, cultivate their interpretive skills, and experiment with new digital research tools. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive UCLA course credit.
- Participants have multiple individual and group mentoring sessions each week with the program’s graduate student mentors. The mentoring sessions cover topics including applying to graduate school, careers in the professoriate, professionalism, and academic writing and research skills.
- Participants will attend weekly lunches with program staff, as well as regularly scheduled workshops on topics related to writing, research, presentation skills, and applying to graduate school.
- Please note that while participants will receive guidance on contacting faculty, participants will not be paired directly with faculty mentors. Additionally, the program does not include a GRE prep course.
- Five of the 20 program spaces will be reserved for Fellows from west coast region Mellon Mays institutions.
ELIGIBILITY AND EXPECTATIONS
- Applicants from Mellon Mays programs at all participating colleges and universities are encouraged to apply.
- Applicants must be rising juniors (first-year MMUF students) or seniors (second-year MMUF students).
- Applicants must be CURRENT Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows at their colleges or universities. They must have already been admitted to the MMUF program at their home institution. Students in the process of applying to the MMUF program at their home institutions should wait to apply to the UCLA Writing and Research Training Program until after they are admitted to their institution’s MMUF program. (Students admitted to their home institution’s MMUF program after the UCLA March 1 program deadline can inquire with UCLA program staff as to whether space is still available.)
- Participants are expected to complete all assignments and participate fully in all activities for the duration of the six-week program.
- Participants must reside in the on-campus housing provided for the duration of the six-week program.
COST
The student cost to participate in the Writing and Research Training Program is $2,000.
The program then covers the cost of housing, a daily meal allowance, required program activities, access to the UCLA library, and the UCLA course fees. Parking is not included.
HOW TO APPLY
Deadline: March 15, 2019
The application consists of two parts. Both parts must be received by the deadline in order for the application to be complete. To apply:
- Submit a UCLA Summer Programs for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) online application. Select the Mellon Mays program as your first choice from the drop-down menu.
- Send the following items via the supplementary application:
- A brief research statement (~300 words) describing your MMUF research project. For students just beginning their research: please describe what you think your project will be.
- A description of your summer research goals (~300 words) and what you hope to get out of the UCLA MMUF Writing and Research Training Program.
- A coordinator’s recommendation form from the coordinator at your home institution confirming your participation in the institution’s MMUF program and endorsing your participation in the UCLA Writing and Research Training Program. We will send your coordinator the recommendation form as soon as you submit the two application items above, but it is your responsibility to follow up with your coordinator to make sure the coordinator’s recommendation form is submitted by the March 15 deadline.
Applications may be considered after the deadline if space is available.
QUESTIONS?
Undergraduate Research Center –
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
A334 Murphy Hall
Monday through Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm
Tel: 310.825.2935
Fax: 310.267.5515
urhass@college.ucla.edu