Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement (McNair Scholars) Program provides experiences that prepare students for graduate education in all disciplines. The program involves students in research, mentoring, and other scholarly activities. McNair participants are from diverse backgrounds and have demonstrated strong academic potential.
Annually, McNair Scholars are selected from among eligible UMBC students to participate in a variety of activities designed to prepare them to progress to earn doctoral degrees. Eligible participants are low-income, first-generation college students, or are members of groups underrepresented in graduate education.
The McNair Scholars Program at UMBC is one of many federally funded programs across the United States and Puerto Rico. The goal of the program is to increase the attainment of doctoral degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.
Our Values
Scholarship
McNair Scholars participate in a variety of scholarly activities designed to prepare them for graduate study. These activities serve as practice for the kinds of research activities they will engage in as graduate students. These activities also contribute to creating a competitive graduate school application for Scholars.
Community
Established in 1992, the McNair Scholars Program at UMBC is one of the longest-running McNair programs in the country. Many McNair alumni give back to the program by providing talks, workshops, and seminars for undergraduate Scholars on their academic, personal, and professional experiences. We consider McNair a family of students, alumni, and staff who support each other academically and professionally.
Empowerment
The McNair Scholars Program is about encouraging others to develop their human potential to achieve the best they can, make reasonable choices, and to transform those choices into desired actions. Mentorship is a key component of the program, and mentors serve as ambassadors to the culture of their discipline and provide a network for the scholars.
Legacy
The McNair legacy is grounded in genuinely making a vital, meaningful, and lasting contribution to humanity while still accomplishing individual goals. Scholars are connected to a network of peers, alumni, faculty, and staff, who help them on the path to a PhD. The legacy of Dr. McNair reminds scholars of the importance of reaching back to those who will come after them, while looking forward and moving research into new areas. McNair Scholars are changing the face of academic teaching and research by contributing new insights to their fields.
Vision
McNair Scholars have spent hours in libraries and labs, have collected countless specimens, gone out into the filed to collect data and interview subjects, and have visited other cultures to conduct their research. These scholars have seen their work as a part of a larger picture and have had to ask the difficult questions. Scholars chose their topics with a sense of meaning and purpose, offering diverse solutions to global problems that connects us and reminds us that we are all citizens of humanity.
Excellence
Excellence is derived from practice and persistence. McNair excellence means understanding what is required in scholarship and living up to it for the betterment of all. Being a McNair Scholar means understanding what is required to achieve academic excellence and reach personal goals.