Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program

Opportunity Description:

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program is part of the Higher Learning program of the Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Foundation is committed to bolstering research and academic endeavors that are aimed at shaping fuller depictions of human experience and establishing groundwork for thriving communities. For more than thirty years, the Mellon Foundation has invested in preparing undergraduates to become scholars and community leaders whose work enriches our lives and deepens our understanding of humanity's complexity. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship honors Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, a noted educator and civic leader. A scholar of religion, Mays earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1935. 

At the core of the MMUF are three key components: research development, mentoring, and cohort-effect and community building. The MMUF is, first and foremost, a research development program. It is dedicated to preparing scholars committed to enriching society through their teaching, research, and leadership in the arts, humanities, and humanistic social sciences. Once admitted to the MMUF, students are mentored in multiple ways. Throughout their two-year tenure, the program supports Mellon Mays Fellows as they endeavor to build relationships with faculty and graduate students. It also hosts a bi-weekly seminar, sponsors a structured summer research development program, and offers year-round academic guidance, community-building activities, social gatherings, workshops, and occasional research roundtables. 

Every year, the University of Chicago admits up to five sophomores to the MMUF. Students begin their tenure in the program in the summer that immediately follows their second year in the College.

Financial Award:

• Two years term-time stipends of $4,000
• Two summer stipends of $4,500
• Annual scholarly development funds of up to $800 for scholarly and research activities
• Graduate school preparation grants of up to $1,300
• Once enrolled in a Mellon-designated PhD program, Mellon Mays alumni receive up to $10,000 of payment toward accrued student loan debt
• MMUF alumni can apply for additional sources of funding sponsored by the Mellon Foundation as they enter graduate studies, complete their dissertations and work to earn tenure

Other Benefits:

• Offers a distinct experience of cohort and community inspired by the life, work, and values of Benjamin E. Mays
• Supports students in building strong, enduring professional and mentoring relationships
• Affords entry into a vibrant community of scholars who are making important contributions to their fields

Minimum Qualifications and/or Eligibility Requirements: 

Basic Eligibility: 

• Basic Eligibility: 
  ●    U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
  ●    Second-Year students (The Mellon Foundation requires those admitted to the MMUF to participate for two full years.)
  ●    Intent to pursue a research-based degree (PhD) in the arts, humanities, or qualitative social sciences (see below)
  ●    MMUF is equally open to all students who meet the program’s eligibility requirements and does not use preferences or criteria based on any trait protected under applicable law. 

Additional Eligibility Requirements:

• University of Chicago second-year students studying and interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in a Mellon-designated field (see below) are eligible to apply.
  • Mellon-designated fields include: 
    • Anthropology, Area/Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Studies, Art History, Classics, Geography, English Language & Literatures, Cinema and Media Studies, Music, Foreign Languages and Literatures, History, Linguistics, Theater & Performance Studies, Philosophy, Political Theory, Religion, Sociology.
  • Areas of study that the MMUF does not support are:
    • Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, or any other science, Economics, Psychology, Political Science (except Political Theory), and Public Policy
  • Concerning Ph.D. fields that one may be considering, interdisciplinary areas of study may be eligible if one or more of the above eligible fields are at their core, but please note that the MMUF does not support Ph.D. programs in Education.

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship is open to applicants of all backgrounds. Applicants will be evaluated based on their prior coursework, their plans for a major, the depth of interest they communicate for a field of inquiry, and the potential of their future scholarship to offer fuller narratives of human experience. Students should reflect on how their academic research will express our complex humanity, nourish imagination, foster critical thinking, and contribute to efforts that build thriving communities.

Selection Criteria: 

• Superior academic achievement, particularly in courses relevant to one's eventual Ph.D. field
• Ability to formulate insightful and innovative research questions
• Clarity and grace as a writer
• Demonstrable facility for interpretive complexity as evidenced by one's writing sample
• Potential to contribute to and enlarge one's chosen field 
• Potential for success beyond post-graduate training
• Desire to be guided and mentored by program leaders and faculty
• Responsiveness to feedback
• Enthusiasm for participating in MMUF programming 

Application Process: 

To get started, please begin by viewing the information found on the UChicago MMUF website. Plan to attend an information session. You may sign up to attend a session here.

Any student who meets the eligibility criteria may apply for admission to the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. However, before applying, students should attend an information session (hosted in January, February, and March) and follow that up by meeting with Elise LaRose individually. She will help you begin preparing your application and is available to offer feedback on subsequent drafts. To arrange meetings with Elise LaRose, please write to her at: mmufatuchicago@gmail.com.

The application requires the following components:

• Research Project Statement
• Intellectual Autobiography
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume
• Writing Sample (in the form of an academic course paper)
• One, preferably two, letters of recommendation from people who have taught you in the College (At least one of these should be from an instructor who has already completed their PhD.)

The application also has three optional components: 

• Statement on creative commitments
• Portfolio of creative work (broadly conceived)

For more information on this opportunity, please contact:

Elise M. LaRose
emlarose@uchicago.edu; mmufatuchicago@gmail.com; 773.834.0905

Application Deadline:
Final Application Deadline: April 15th. (The deadline for every year is April 15.)
Campus Interviews: the last two weekends of April
Notifications of Award: by May 7th, possibly sooner. 

For more information on this opportunity, please contact:
emlarose@uchicago.edu
Website/CV: 
https://mellonmays.uchicago.edu