Online applications for the UCR Mellon Mays program open each fall and close in February. Applicants move through a three stage application process (outlined below) that assesses their eligibility, academic achievement, and research interests. Up to five finalists are admitted to the program in early April and formally join the cohort in May. New fellows attend a summer research program at UCR designed to help prepare them to begin research project.

Transfer students are awarded conditional fellowships, pending acceptance to UCR and completion of the UCR Statement of Intent to Register (SIR).

Find more information about each step by clicking on the + links below. Pay close attention to the instructions and deadlines for each step.

Click here to access the application portal

About the MMUF application

  • The first time you access the portal, you will create an account and verify your email address
  • Progress on your application can be SAVED so that you can return and edit as often as needed
  • Complete the first two tabs of the application to check eligibility
    • Click Save+Next to complete the ‘Start Here’ tab
    • Answer the questions on the ‘Check Eligibility’ tab and click Check Eligibility to determine if you are eligible to apply
      • If you are eligible, the rest of the application opens up for you to view and edit
      • If you are notified that you are not eligible, feel free to contact us at MMUF@ucr.edu for more information
  • Be sure to save your work on each tab by clicking Save+Next before exiting
  • When you have completed your application and attached your documents, click Submit Application.
    • After you submit, you may edit your application up until the deadline

Office hours for the 2024-25 year will be posted in September.

In the meantime, get in touch for more information about the program or for assistance with the application process

Email MMUF@ucr.edu

The UC Riverside Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship application process is organized into three steps.

Step 1 is to check your eligibility for the program. In the online application, complete the first two tabs and click ‘Check eligibility’.  If you meet the eligibility criteria, the full application will open for you to review and complete.

In Step 2, you share your experience, interests and values through questions and short essays. Take your time completing the application. Feel free to save your answers and return to the application later, up until the deadline.  

In Step 3, the MMUF committee reviews the applications, supporting documentation, and letters of reference to compiles a short list of finalists to invite for interviews. Finalists meet with the committee to talk about the program, their research interests, and future goals. The committee then selects up to five finalists for admission to the program.

The goal of the Mellon Mays program is to amplify perspectives and contributions that have been marginalized within the conventional scholarly record, and that promote the realization of a more socially just world. We call this objective multivocality, and this commitment is at the core of MMUF.

Requirements for eligibility include

  • Major in a Mellon-eligible field or discipline (see the Eligible Majors tab for more details)
  • Minimum 3.3 GPA
  • Status as a US citizen, permanent resident (green card), or undocumented resident of California
  • Ability to commit to 2 full years in the MMUF program (includes 6 quarters and 2 summers)
  • At least 90 units/Sophomore/2nd year student status at time of application
  • Interest in pursuing graduate school in a Mellon-eligible field

In addition, applicants must demonstrate their active commitments to

    • addressing issues of social inequality and injustice
    • furthering the goal of a diverse academy
    • bringing historically marginalized or underrepresented perspectives to the academy, including by producing scholarly research that reflects and satisfies the aims of the program (See the Potential Research Topics and Themes tab for more details)

Students majoring in one of the Mellon-designated fields below may apply to the program. A second major and/or minor in other fields is allowed, but applicants must intend to pursue graduate studies in one of the areas listed below. If you have questions about your major or your eligibility for the program, contact us.

Anthropology & Archaeology
Area/Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Studies
Art History
Classics
Geography & Population Studies
English
Film, Cinema & Media Studies (theoretical focus)
Musicology, Ethnomusicology & Music Theory
Foreign Languages & Literatures
History
Linguistics
Literature
Performance Studies (theoretical focus)
Philosophy & Political Theory
Religion & Theology
Sociology
Theater (theoretical focus)

All research project topics are welcome and you do not need previous research experience to apply to MMUF.

The program particularly seeks to support research that explores and endorses more complete and accurate narratives of the human experience and helps lay the foundation for more just and equitable futures.

The examples below are intended to help you understand how a research project might align with the program goals. If you have questions about your research topic, feel free to get in touch.

  • historical and contemporary treatments of race/racialization and racial formation
  • intersectional experience and analysis
  • gender and sexuality
  • Indigenous history and culture
  • questions about diaspora
  • coloniality and decolonization
  • the carceral state
  • migration and immigration
  • urban inequalities and ethnographies
  • social movements and mass mobilizations
  • the transatlantic slave trade
  • settler colonial societies
  • racial disparities and outcomes
  • languages, multilingualism, and social justice
  • or literary and philosophical accounts of agency, subjectivity, and community, among other areas

Stage 2 applicants will craft three (3) short essays, each of which will respond to each specific prompt below.

Prompt #1
In up to 500 words, describe the academic and life experiences and encounters that have helped to shape your intellectual development. Please use the following questions to develop your response:

      • Why do I want to participate in MMUF?
      • What courses and/or academic activities have been most influential in shaping my interests and motivating me?
      • Why did I choose my major? What issues, questions and themes stimulate and sustain my intellectual curiosity?
      • Why would I like to enter a PhD program in my field and pursue a career as a college/university professor? 

Prompt #2
For this essay, please first carefully review the eligibility criteria for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, specifically the following requirement:

“In addition, applicants must demonstrate their active commitments to

  • addressing issues of social inequality and injustice
  • furthering the goal of a diverse academy
  • bringing historically marginalized or underrepresented perspectives to the academy, including by producing scholarly research that reflects and satisfies the aims of the program (See the Potential Research Topics and Themes tab for more details)”

In up to 500 words, provide an assessment of how your activities, perspectives, and experiences align with the program eligibility requirement above. Reflect on the following as you prepare your response.

      • How have you demonstrated a commitment to reducing social inequality and injustice?
      • How have your activities and achievements helped form your personal standpoint and interests in these areas? For example, have you participated in volunteer work, leadership roles, peer mentoring, community engagement, or other activities?
      • Why is the goal of a diverse academy important and how have you shown support for this goal?
      • What is your experience with amplifying historically marginalized or underrepresented perspectives in your coursework or extracurricular activities?

Prompt #3
During their two years in the program, Mellon Mays fellows develop an independent research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. In up to 500 words, propose a research theme that you might be interested in developing as a Mellon Mays Fellow. 

You may not have research experience and this may be the first time you have thought about a research project of your own. That’s ok! We are interested in hearing about a topic that interests you and how you might develop a project on that topic, based on what you know right now.

See the section on ‘Eligible Research Topics and Themes’ for additional guidance and examples. Consider these questions as you prepare your response:

    • What is a research topic or theme that you might be interested in studying?
    • What draws you to this question? What would like to uncover or understand about this topic? Include a highlight of any coursework you have taken relating to the research question.
    • What other scholars have studied this topic (based on what you know so far from courses or your own reading) that is similar to what you’re proposing? How would your research do something different or add to that existing scholarship?
    • Have you been working with a professor on this research topic, or is there a faculty member you think could help you think through this project? What might you hope to gain from this mentoring relationship?

Please submit a sample of your strongest academic writing (up to 1,500 words or 5 double-spaced pages, not including references or bibliography). Make sure that this sample highlights the kind of thinker you are and/or the kind of research you want to do.

The writing may contain creative elements, as long as it also demonstrates analysis and argumentation with a thesis statement and supporting evidence. The writing sample need not be on the same topic as your proposed MMUF research, and there is no need to write anything new. Instead, you can use a clean copy (without instructor’s comments) of something you already submitted for a college class.

Please submit an unofficial copy of all undergraduate transcript(s). The transcript(s) should contain your current GPA and course list/grades for all undergraduate classes you have taken to date. UCR students can request a free copy as an e-transcript under “Transcripts and Verifications” in their R’Web account.

Applications must include TWO (2) letters of recommendation submitted by the letter writers to our office in email by the Step 2 deadline (see above). Letters from professors/faculty members at UCR (or your current institution) are preferred, since they can best comment on your academic/research skills. Advisors, mentors, and graduate student TAs may also write letters on your behalf, but at least ONE letter must be from a professor.

Advice on requesting letters of recommendation:

  • Don’t wait! Faculty and mentors write stronger letters of recommendation for students they know well and who ask them early (ideally 4 weeks in advance).
  • Ask your potential letter writers early, meet with them during their office hours, and provide them with information about MMUF.
  • You should also provide them with information about yourself. This includes, but is not limited to, your academic interests, resume, and extracurricular activities.
  • Finally, it is a good idea to show your letter writers drafts of your application documents (personal essay, research statement, writing sample). They will get a better sense of how you are presenting yourself, and they will be able to provide you valuable feedback on your application documents.
  • We know it can be difficult to ask for recommendations. Feel free to get in touch! We can talk to you about how to approach your professors and help you think through your application.

After careful review of all supporting documentation and letters of recommendation, the committee selects a short list of students to interview in the final stage of the application process. The interview gives finalists the opportunity to ask questions about the program and allows the committee an opportunity to learn more about the applicant’s future plans and interests. Of those interviewed, the committee offers admittance to no more than five students per year.

Questions?

Email us at mmuf@ucr.edu and we will get in touch!