This timeline is only a guide to show you how the program is outlined.
Summer 1
(students who have completed sophomore year)
- Participate in 10-week project
- Receive a summer tuition waiver
- Receive a McNair stipend
- Receive summer meal plan
- Apply for summer room waiver if living on campus
- Attend GRE Preparation Workshop the week before classes start in August
- Participate in field trips, educational, recreational, and cultural activities with mentors, graduate students, and program organizers
- Evaluate the summer McNair activities and project experiences
Junior Year
- Continue work with mentor on project (optional)
- Attend McNair seminars, workshops, and social events
- Submit an abstract of their project results for inclusion in the MSU Undergraduate Scholars Conference
- Meet monthly with the Director and your Faculty Mentor
- Prepare for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) exam by taking 3 online practice exams
- Evaluate McNair activities
Summer 2
(students who have completed junior year)
- Participate in 10-week project
- Receive a summer tuition waiver
- Receive a McNair stipend
- Receive summer meal plan
- Apply for summer room waiver if living on campus
- Participate in field trips, educational, recreational, and cultural activities with mentors, graduate students, and program organizers
- Participate with the new cohort of McNair scholars, during lunch and social events
- Serve as a program guide and peer mentor to in-coming juniors who share similar academic interests
- Evaluate the summer McNair activities and project experiences
Senior Year
- Continue work with their mentor on project (optional)
- Attend lectures, workshops, and social events.
- Work with mentor on graduate school applications
- Take the GRE
- Visit a graduate school(s)
- Apply to graduate schools
- Apply for graduate school fellowships, scholarships, and other funding opportunities
- Submit abstract to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) or a discipline-specific regional or national meeting
- Present research in either poster or oral formate at the MSU's Spring Research Celebration
- Meet regularly with the Director and academic advisor
- As needed, utilize the MSU Writing Center, Math Center, and other academic and student support services offered by TRiO and the Department of Native Studies
- Evaluate McNair activities
Graduation & Enrollment in Graduate School
For McNair scholars who still need another year to graduate, as transfer students often do, they will have the opportunity to act as peer mentors for younger McNair scholars
