McNair Scholars Program

About McNair

Born in a low-income community in South Carolina, Dr. Ronald McNair earned his Ph.D. in physics at MIT and became a NASA astronaut. In addition to three additional honorary doctorate degrees, Dr. McNair was an Omega Psi Phi Scholar of the Year and Presidential Scholar, a Ford Foundation Fellow, a Distinguished National Scientist, a National Fellowship Fund Fellow, and a National Society of Black Professional Engineers member. He earned the Friends of Freedom Award, won the AAU Karate Gold Medal, and five Regional Black Belt Karate Championships.

Eligibility

Students must:

• have a sincere desire to pursue graduate studies (all majors are welcome)
• have earned 60 credit hours and will continue full time and have at least one summer before graduating​
• have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8
• be a US citizen or permanent resident
• be a first-generation college student (no parent or legal guardian holds a 4-year college degree) with financial need according to federal definitions OR be a member of a group that is underrepresented in graduate education:
  • Black or African American
  • Hispanic or Latinx
  • American Indian or Alaskan Native
  • Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders affiliated with the United States

Services

• Guided research with a mentor 
• Paid summer internship (minimum $2800)
• Graduate school preparation (workshops and resources)
• Travel opportunities (campus visits and conferences)
• Assistance with graduate admission and funding opportunities
• Two semester hours of tuition-free credit for UNIV 311 course “Introduction to Research & Scholarly Activity”

Application

Fall recruitment information will be available soon.

Contact Information

Please email us at mcnair@roosevelt.edu.

Meet the Team

Dr. Mike Maly, Sr Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, mmaly@roosevelt.edu
Dr. Cordelia Chong, Interim Director, cchong@roosevelt.edu
Dr. Alejandra Pietro-Mendoza, Associate Director, aprietomendoza@roosevelt.edu
Franziska Miles, Graduate Assistant, fmiles@mail.roosevelt.edu
Olivia Salazar, Graduate Assistant, osalazar01@mail.roosevelt.edu