Mellon Mays Program for Visiting Students

NOTE: We are planning for an in-person 2023 summer program. All participants will be required to show proof of vaccination and eligible booster before coming to campus. For information about COVID-19 policies and restrictions on campus, please visit the UCLA COVID-19 resources website: https://covid-19.ucla.edu/ 

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Writing and Research Training Program at UCLA is a six-week writing and research summer program for 20 current Mellon Mays Fellows from participating Mellon Mays colleges and universities. Fellows participate in a rigorous scholarly writing and research course, individual and group mentoring sessions, workshops, events, and a final research colloquium. The program also includes on-campus housing and a meal allowance.

The summer program is part of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship aims to diversify the professoriate by increasing the number of faculty from underrepresented groups and by supporting those with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities in higher education.

We are pleased to share the 2022 Final Colloquium Program and Abstracts.

PROGRAM DETAILS

  • The program is six weeks: Sunday, June 25, 2023 – Saturday, August 5, 2023.
  • The centerpiece of the program is a Research Practice course taught by Dr. Jacquelyn Ardam, one of the co-directors of the Mellon Mays program at UCLA. In the course, students will focus on three vital research skills: reading scholarly writing, writing for scholarly audiences, and presenting research for academic and general audiences. The course will approach reading, writing, and sharing academic research as ongoing, iterative processes. Students in the course will develop their individual research projects while learning skills relevant to researchers at any stage of their research journeys.
  • Participants who successfully complete the course will receive UCLA course credit.
  • Participants have multiple individual and group mentoring sessions each week with the program’s graduate student mentors. The mentoring sessions cover topics including applying to graduate school, careers in the professoriate, professionalism, and academic writing and research skills.
  • Participants will attend weekly lunches with program staff and guest speakers.
  • Please note that while participants will receive guidance on contacting faculty, participants will not be paired directly with faculty mentors. Additionally, the program does not include a GRE prep course.
  • Five of the 20 program spaces will be reserved for Fellows from west coast region Mellon Mays institutions.

ELIGIBILITY AND EXPECTATIONS

  • Applicants from Mellon Mays programs at all participating colleges and universities are encouraged to apply.
  • Applicants must be rising juniors (first-year MMUF students) or seniors (second-year MMUF students).
  • Applicants must be CURRENT Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows at their colleges or universities. They must have already been admitted to the MMUF program at their home institution. Students in the process of applying to the MMUF program at their home institutions should wait to apply to the UCLA Writing and Research Training Program until after they are admitted to their institution’s MMUF program. (Students admitted to their home institution’s MMUF program after the UCLA March 15 program deadline can inquire with UCLA program staff as to whether space is still available.)
  • Participants are expected to complete all assignments and participate fully in all activities for the duration of the six-week program.
  • Participants must reside in the on-campus housing provided for the duration of the six-week program.
  • Participants must be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus before they will be allowed on campus and will be required to show proof of vaccination.

COST

Mellon Fellows do NOT have to pay for the summer program. Fellows will be on a meal plan that provides breakfast and dinner at UCLA dining halls, and will be provided with an additional $20 daily stipend for lunch. Fellows will need to cover their own transportation expenses to and from UCLA.

HOW TO APPLY

Click Here to Apply  Deadline Extended to April 5, 2023

The application consists of two parts. Both parts must be received by the deadline in order for the application to be complete. To apply:

  1. Submit the 2023 UCLA MMUF Writing and Research Training Program Application. On your application you will describe (in ~300 words) your research project or prospective research project. You will also specify what you hope to get out of each element of the UCLA MMUF Writing and Research Training Program.
  2. Alert the MMUF coordinator at your home institution that they should submit a coordinator’s recommendation form confirming your participation in the institution’s MMUF program and endorsing your participation in the UCLA Writing and Research Training Program. We will send your coordinator the recommendation form as soon as you submit the two application items above, but it is your responsibility to follow up with your coordinator to make sure the coordinator’s recommendation form is submitted by the deadline.

Applications may be considered after the deadline if space is available.

QUESTIONS?

Undergraduate Research Center –
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
A334 Murphy Hall
Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tel: 310.825.2935
Fax: 310.267.5515
urhass@college.ucla.edu