By Mariah Bennett | Staff Writer
The priority application deadline for the Baylor McNair Scholars Program is Nov. 1. As a Federal TRIO Program, it is “designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education in over 151 institutions across the United States and in Puerto Rico. It helps first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students navigate their pursuit of graduate degrees, especially doctoral degrees, according to McNair Scholars Program director Steven Fernandez.
The majority of Baylor’s McNair Scholars go directly into graduate programs. According to Fernandez, many of them are highly competitive, fully funded Ph.D. programs.
Also known as the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, it is dedicated to Dr. Ronald E. McNair — an expert in laser physics and the second African American to go to space.
“After his death in the Challenger Space Shuttle accident on January 28, 1986, members of Congress provided funding for the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program,” the McNair Scholars website reads.
The Baylor McNair Scholars Program provides students with resources, including local and national research opportunities, a faculty mentor, intensive GRE preparation, graduate school application assistance and application fee waivers.
“It’s a program that provides our students with ongoing resources like professional development workshops, faculty-mentored research and the opportunity to attend conferences,” Ricardo Garza, McNair Scholars Program assistant director, said.
Garza said Baylor has its own national conference and a hub of high-achieving students who want to do great things.
Fernandez said the McNair Scholars Program provides a community of support. He said it can be very empowering to be in a community of like-minded students.
“As a first-generation student myself, it is sometimes difficult to navigate some of these unknown barriers into what it’s like to apply for graduate school … because I may be the only one in my family to do so,” Fernandez said. “I often thought I had to take a lockstep process of a master’s, then the Ph.D., but there are opportunities for those high-achieving students who want to go directly from undergrad into a Ph.D.”
Garza said he was a part of the McNair Scholars Program during his time as an undergraduate student at another university, during the end of a grant cycle. He said he had a faculty mentor and was able to decide his specific area of research before the program was no longer being funded.
“[The program] allowed me to feel a little bit more confident that OK, I was accepted into this type of program,” Garza said.
The Baylor McNair Scholars Program is open to all students from any major or discipline who will be attending Baylor until the end of fall 2023. Students interested in faculty-mentored research must have at least 60 credit hours.
“The first-generation and underrepresented populations are a growing community here at Baylor,” Fernandez said. “We’re very excited about serving and giving the resources to these populations. If we can help them navigate these barriers, we find the students can be remarkably successful in pursuing their dreams.”
