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Become a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow

Learn how to become a Mellon Mays fellow. Get information on the program's requirements and access the online application forms.

Apply to the Program

Deadlines
Faculty nomination deadline: February 28, 2025
Nominated student application deadline: March 31, 2025

Benefits

What the program provides:

  • On-going mentoring and collaboration with a Hunter faculty mentor on research project and individualized advising
  • Community support networks
  • Opportunities to attend professional research conferences and present individual research
  • Opportunities to study or conduct research outside of Hunter
  • Preparation for graduate school

Benefits of the program:

  • $8,500 total stipend per year of participation
  • Financial support for research-related travel
  • Tuition waiver
  • GRE preparation
  • Undergraduate loan repayment and SSRC predoctoral grants

Eligibility

  • US citizen, Permanent Resident or DACA
  • Intention to pursue a graduate (PhD) degree in selected humanities, social sciences and physical sciences
  • Undergraduate with >36 and <100 credits at time of admission to MMUF Program
  • Cumulative GPA >3.0 at time of admission to MMUF Program
  • Pursuing an eligible filed of study: Anthropology and Archaeology; Area/Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Studies; Art History; Classics; Geography and Population Studies; English; Film, Cinema and Media Studies (theoretical focus); Musicology, Ethnomusicology and Music Theory; Foreign Languages and Literatures; History; Linguistics; Literature; Performance Studies (theoretical focus); Philosophy and Political Theory; Religion and Theology; Sociology; Theater (theoretical focus)
  • Demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing diversity and under-representation in higher education

Application Process

Step 1: Get Nominated

Students must be nominated by a Hunter faculty members, using the form below, before applying to the MMUF Program.

The form asks for the following information on behalf of the student being nominated: full name, major/GPA, email address and Hunter EMPL Student ID number. It also asks the nominator to briefly describe what about the nominee’s academic work, scholarly interests and potential for graduate study make them an exceptional candidate for the MMUF Program.

Interested applicants should proactively seek out a Hunter faculty advisor for nomination and communicate their research aspirations and interest in the MMUF Program. A Hunter faculty nomination to the MMUF Program is required before a student is eligible to access the online application.

The faculty nomination deadline is February 28, 2025.

Step 2: Apply

Once the nomination form is submitted to the MMUF Program, the student will be contacted to complete the MMUF application which consists of a two-part personal statement, and a writing sample (five page paper) submitted for a grade in a recent course. The student must submit all parts of the MMUF application for consideration.

Additionally, students must request recommendation letters from TWO Hunter faculty members as part of the complete application packet. Students are advised to seek faculty early to ensure recommendation letters arrive by the application deadline date. Once a student is invited to complete the online application, the MMUF Program will request from them the names and emails of faculty recommenders, and will then send those recommenders a link to an online recommendation form. Recommendation letters may be submitted directly using the online recommendation form we provide.

The nominated student application deadline is March 31, 2025.

Questions? Contact us at mmuf@hunter.cuny.edu.

Nomination Form