2025 Graduate Programs Representatives Registration Information

We are excited to invite you to participate in our 33rd Annual UMBC McNair Scholars Conference. This year, the conference will be held in person at the Sheraton Baltimore Inner Harbor, with the Graduate School Fair during the middle of the conference on Saturday, September 20th, 2:45 pm – 4:45 pm.  However, those who register are will be provided lunch.

This year, approximately 100 additional UMBC students will be bused from campus to attend the Grad Fair on Saturday!

Registration Types

Please review our Benefit Document for the full benefits of being a Grad/Institutional Sponsor and General Grad Rep Registration.

SPONSORSHIP ($2400)

Become a Sponsor: we are excited to offer 15 spots for Graduate / Institutional Sponsors

  • One full conference registration is included for sponsor
  • May register additional representative(s) for an additional fee(s)
  • May also meal ticket for the additional rep for an additional cost
  • Prominent table throughout the entire Friday & Saturday conference and the afternoon grad fair
  • Prominent placement of advertisement and information in our grad fair booklet which will be sent to all conference attendees and eventually disseminated to our McNair scholars all around the country
  • Ad rotated during breaks and meals times
  • Special Recognition as Named Sponsor for one of the elements of the conference (with logo included)
  • Meals and participation on for the full the conference
  • A complimentary ticket to our Friday night opening cruise
  • Special sponsored meals with chosen scholars (sponsors select!)
  • Sched app exhibit page for sponsors
  • Ticket for Wednesday’s cultural museum visit
    • Bus Sponsor –  5 mins talk to students on the bus ride to the cultural excursion (for select number of sponsors only)
  • Ticket for Wednesday’s MD Crab Experience Excursion

GENERAL REGISTRATION ($700)

  • Table at the graduate fair (for one person)
    • May register additional representative(s) for an additional fee(s)
  • Lunch at the conference on Saturday
    • Registration for Grad Reps open at 12:30pm on Saturday; Lunch is scheduled for 1:00 – 2:30pm
  • Advertisement and information in our grad fair booklet which will be sent to all conference attendees and eventually disseminated to our McNair scholars all around the country

Important Information

  1. How to Register
    • Grad Reps registration includes one grad fair table and one person registered. If you decide to have more than one individual representing your program, we do require each to register at the reduced grad rep rate.
    • via Eventbrite – Here’s the link to register via Eventbrite (credit card payment). We will send you a second link to gather more information once you have registered.  We encourage you to utilize the Eventbrite credit card processing. 
    • via Invoice – Due to Eventbrite not providing invoices, we have to contract via another option to complete individual invoices. Therefore, payment via invoice will incur a 10% per ticket administrative & processing fee to be added to the invoice when sent for a payment request. Therefore, we encourage all payments to be via Eventbrite. To pay via invoice:
    • Reminder: Lunch is included in your registration. All other meals are only available to sponsors (inclusive of cruise)
  2. Refund Policy — Registration fees are refundable (less a processing charge of 10% for registration fees) if written notice of cancellation is received via e-mail (mcnairs@umbc.edu) on or before July 15th.
  3. Individual Grad Fair Table for Program – Each registered program will have its own table at the grad fair.
    • Sponsors will be able to set up starting Friday, while all others will be allowed to set up at 12:30 pm (Saturday) in the designated grad school fair area.
  4. Conference Attendees List – At least two weeks prior to the conference, you will be provided a list of registrants with relevant information about them, including their degree programs of interest. (Sponsors will receive the list near August 10th)
  5. Graduate Fair Booklet – As a bonus, we will be creating a graduate school fair booklet that will be disseminated not only to the attendees but will be forwarded to the entire national McNair community. As part of the booklet, you will be able to submit a full-page color advertisement for your program, and there will be a profile sheet for each institution highlighting key aspects that are important to our McNair family.
  6. Hotel – Please book your rooms via our personalized link for Sheraton Baltimore Inner Harbor (TO COME ONCE YOU ARE REGISTERED). Doing so will ensure we meet our minimum required rooms. The special price is $189 per night (before fees and taxes).
  7. Shipping of Materials to the Hotel – Because of our small staff, we cannot coordinate shipping for any grad reps (including sponsors). It’s crucial that grad reps coordinate directly with the  Sheraton hotel. All the necessary details can be found in this document. Please note that there are shipping and handling charges.  If you’re shipping something to the hotel, it’s imperative that you adhere to the labeling standards in the document. The Sheraton security team will receive your package, and you’ll need to visit the front desk to collect it and make the necessary payment. Please ensure you follow these steps for a smooth process. Remember, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Next Steps After Registration

Once you register, please complete this link to a separate Grad Rep Profile form [LINK] that will gather all the information necessary for the Grad Fair Booklet that the attendees will receive. You must submit this form EVEN IF you have represented your program at our conference in prior year/s – we will only use the information submitted for this conference year.

The deadline to register and have all forms submitted will be July 15th, 2025, at 5 pm EST.

 

These are sample questions that are asked on The UMBC McNair Conference Grad Representative Prep FORM. We will compile your responses and use them within the Graduate Fair booklet. (Deadline is July 15th, 5 pm EST, to be included in the booklet) 

  • Does your institution have a McNair Scholars Program? (Yes or No)
  • Number of McNair Scholars enrolled at your institution (undergraduate and graduate)
  • Does your institution honor the national McNair application fee waiver?
    • If not, are other application fee waivers available?
  • Is there a special process for obtaining any fee waivers, including McNair?
  • Please list visitation possibilities that cater to diversity (include websites).
  • Please discuss graduate school funding for diverse applicants.
  • Please describe the support systems within graduate school to support diverse applicants once enrolled:
  • What professional development opportunities exist for diverse graduate students within your program/ institution?
  • Attachments: Full Page 8.5 by 11 color advertisement, and Institution’s Logo

Please note that the booklet will state that the information was provided directly by the institutional representative listed. Therefore, we urge you to make sure that the information is accurate and provides more depth than what students can Google on your institution’s website.

NOTE: Following the initial release of the 2025 Grad Fair booklet on July 1st, the booklet will only be updated on a weekly basis (every Monday) leading up to the week of the conference – September 15th, 2025. Please be sure to submit your form in a timely manner so your institution can be acknowledged in our booklet for the maximum amount of time and request corrections PRIOR to the start of our conference. No edits will be made to the booklet after September 15th, 2025, 9am EST.