"My mentor has opened doors for me I didn't even know exisited. I'm grateful for all that she's done for me."

- A McNair Scholar

The purpose of the McNair program is to help prepare low-income, first generation college students and students from under-represented groups in graduate education nationally for eventual doctoral study. Much of this preparation comes in the form of classes required of all Scholars, which focus on the nature of graduate study, helping them develop their oral and written skills, selecting a graduate program, and the application process. In addition, a major component of the program is the requirement that all Scholars undertake and complete a research project.

Much of the work on the research project is accomplished during an eight-week summer research experience that culminates in the preparation of a formal poster and oral presentation at our end of summer McNair Research Symposium. However, we view this as an ongoing process that begins late fall semester and continues throughout spring semester when the Scholars prepare their research proposals. Following the summer presentation the Scholars are also expected to complete a journal article for publication in the WSU McNair Journal (or some other professional journal). They are also expected to make a presentation at one of several national McNair conferences or at a professional meeting in their discipline.

A very critical, if not the most critical component of the McNair program, is the individual Scholar's relationship with her or his faculty mentor. Because the ultimate goal is to prepare these students for eventual graduate study, we hope that the mentor will relate to the Scholar in much the same way that they would a beginning graduate student. In the course of helping them undertake what for many will be their first real hands-on research project, we hope that the mentor will convey to them the high expectations we have for them in terms of the quality of research as well as their continued performance in classes. Mentors may also stress the need to take appropriate courses to aid them in preparing for graduate study.

Thank you for visiting our site and inquiring about becoming a faculty mentor with the McNair program. If you have questions or are interested in becoming a faculty mentor with the McNair program, please contact the program staff at 335-7702 or email us at mcnair@mail.wsu.edu.

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