[Pols-l] McNair Scholars Program

Fri Oct 7 15:35:00 CDT 2016

FYI, apologies for any duplication

From: KU McNair [mailto:mcnair=ku.edu at mail16.suw13.rsgsv.net] On Behalf Of KU McNair
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2016 3:19 PM
To: Haider-Markel, Donald Patrick <prex at ku.edu>
Subject: October Newsletter

Welcome to the KU TRIO McNair Scholars news letter!

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Help Us Recruit Scholars!
The TRIO McNair Scholars Program’s is looking to assemble the next cohort of high-achieving University of Kansas undergraduate students who aspire to join America’s next generation of university professors, researchers, and professionals.
The McNair Scholars Program provides low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students with the necessary skills, resources and support to prepare and earn placement in graduate programs to pursue doctoral degrees. Fields of study represented in the current group include economics, sociology, women’s/gender/sexuality studies, chemistry, English, social welfare, journalism, electrical engineering, human biology, African/African American studies, psychology, and ecology/environmental biology.
“We value the pedagogic contribution of our scholars, and we are dedicated to cultivating the intellectual advancement of every scholar through rigorous research and scholarly activities across disciplines,” says Program Director Mulu Negash.
McNair Scholars receive paid research opportunities, faculty mentors, a GRE preparation course, tutoring and assistance with graduate-school applications. Scholars begin their work by taking an interdisciplinary-research-method course. During the course, students design independent-research proposals that they begin work on during the summer.
During their research, McNair Scholars work closely with faculty mentors to:

  *   Identify and read literature in their research areas,
  *   Refine research methods and academic writing skills,
  *   Learn about the nature and rigors of research along with the multiple professional pathways for PhD holders, and
  *   Build professional networks with scholars in their fields.

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Mentor of the Month
Jennifer Hamer  Department of American Studies. Dr. Jennifer Hamer has been a strong supporter and advocate of the McNair scholars Program and it’s scholars. She is currently mentoring Trinity Carpenter on two research projects and advising her on graduate school and leadership

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Alumni of the Month
Nicole Humphrey  Ph.D. student School of Public Affairs and Administration. Nicole was selected for a doctoral fellowship from the National Science Foundation!

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Scholar of the Month
Anissa Fritz     Sociology and Journalism. Anissa was selected to present her research at the Hall Center for the Humanities Undergraduate Research Seminar.

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Six of our KU McNair Scholars presented at the 20th Annual Ronald E. McNair Heartland Research Conference, which took place in Kansas City from September 23-25th.

University of Kansas McNair Alumna Emily Hooker ('11 Psychology) is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Irvine. She has written advise to current scholars applying for graduate school this fall. Thank you Emily!
________________________________
Five Tips for Successful Graduate School Applications
With the fall semester under way, many of you will be applying for graduate school and graduate fellowships. Below are my suggestions for successfully completing your applications.

  1.  Make a timeline of the tasks you need to complete in order to submit your applications. Include contacting prospective advisors, requesting application fee waivers, creating online applications that allow letter-writers to submit their letters, and sending hard copies of requested documents.
  2.  Request letters of reference as soon as possible (at least one month in advance). If possible, include the following with your request: a list of all deadlines, information about how the letter will be submitted (online or via mail), addressed and stamped envelopes when required, drafts of all application materials, a brief description about the advisor you are applying to work with, and a summary of your work with that letter-writer. In this summary, you can include your responsibilities, instances when you excelled, skills you obtained working with that person, and/or key areas of your application that you would like this writer to be aware of. Politely remind your writers, for example, two weeks and a few days before the deadline, and send thank you notes when all letters are submitted.
  3.  Stay organized. Make a list of deadlines and/or “send-by dates” (some schools will have multiple), keep it visible (e.g., on your fridge), and put those dates into your calendar. Consider creating a submission checklist for each school to avoid forgetting required application documents. I printed hard copies of these lists and had a binder for each school. It doesn’t matter how you get organized, just find a system that works for you.
  4.  Revise, revise, revise your application documents. Reviewers ideally include, your research mentor, graduate students in your lab/department, your peers, McNair mentors, and a fluent English speaker who is not an academic. Those outside your area of research will understand the gist of clear and concisely written statements. If you are applying for a graduate fellowship, grant specialists at the Office of Research may be able to provide feedback on your application.
  5.  If eligible, apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. NSF recently changed their fellowship program to restrict the number of times graduate students can apply for this award to encourage undergraduate applications--take advantage of your chance to apply as an undergrad. Also, make sure to read the specific review criteria for each of these awards. The deadlines for these awards are often earlier than graduate school applications, but winning one of these awards could influence your graduate school offers.

Important McNair Dates

  *   October 3 --> McNair Application Available
  *   October 11 --> Graduate School Application Work Day 9-5pm
  *   November 7 --> McNair Scholars Priority Deadline
  *   November 11 --> Scholars Outing - Axis Dance Company at The LIED Center

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Once a KU McNair Scholar, always a KU McNair Scholar.
If you would like to recommend a student to the KU TRIO McNair Scholars program, please email us at mcnair at ku.edu<mailto:mcnair at ku.edu>

Our mailing address is:
305 Joseph R. Pearson Hall
1122 West Campus Road
Lawrence, KS 66045

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