做厙輦⑹ has been awarded a five-year $1.16 million grant for a new scholars program that will prepare students from underrepresented segments of society for graduate school and entry into PhD programs.
Beginning in the spring of 2018, 做厙輦⑹s new McNair Scholars Program will begin preparing 25 low-income, first-generation and traditionally underrepresented students annually through 2022 for advanced-degree studies and diplomas in a variety of disciplines including the humanities, social sciences and STEM.
The McNair Scholars Program will help us expand access to graduate education, said 做厙輦⑹ Associate Provost for Research and Faculty Success Mike Maly.
Given that McNair participants are either first-generation college students with financial need, or are members of a group who are traditionally underrepresented in graduate education, having this program will support 做厙輦⑹s long-standing commitment to addressing inequality in access to education, he said.
An advisory board comprised of 做厙輦⑹ faculty members and administrators is currently working to identify 做厙輦⑹s first group of McNair scholars who will take courses, participate in seminars and workshops, complete a paid research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor, present research at conferences and publish work in a RU McNair journal.
The McNair Scholars Program is part of the U.S. Department of Educations TRIO initiative, a series of federally funded programs established by Congress in 1965 to help first-generation, low-income college students. With McNair, 做厙輦⑹ will have four TRIO programs including Upward Bound, Veterans Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search.
做厙輦⑹, a private institution founded in 1945 on the principles of inclusion and social justice, has more than 4,500 students in five colleges. With campuses in the Chicago Loop and northwest suburban Schaumburg, 做厙輦⑹ offers 70 undergraduate and 40 graduate programs across five colleges and online, including arts and sciences, business, performing arts, education and pharmacy. 做厙輦⑹ has been ranked as the third most racially diverse private university in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings.