Established in 1988, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) is committed to expanding academic faculties and leadership in higher education and to promoting the value of the humanities and related disciplines. Its name honors Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the noted African American educator, statesman, minister, and former president of Morehouse College.
Carleton was one of eight MMUF founding institutions in 1988. We are deeply committed to supporting talented students who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. and becoming a professor in the humanities, arts, or humanistic social sciences. Our current fellows are on track to pursue graduate study in disciplines such as Classics, English, History, Philosophy, Religion, and Sociology & Anthropology.
The grant provides fellows with the following forms of support:
- Intensive faculty mentoring on a research project designed by the student;
- Peer mentoring and intellectual community, both internal to Carleton and throughout the larger MMUF community;
- Funding to engage in a sustained research project during the summer, winter, and spring breaks;
- Support for research-related travel and materials;
- Intensive guidance with developing presentations for conferences, articles for publication, and other professional development activities;
- Exposure to humanities disciplines through both on-campus and off-campus events;
- Participation in discipline-specific events, such as professional conferences;
- Assistance with graduate school preparation;
- Repayment of undergraduate loans of up to $10,000 if they pursue doctoral study in a Mellon-designated field.
- Support and extended intellectual community beyond undergraduate participation through gap-year programming and assistance with graduate school applications, and a host of other opportunities once enrolled in a qualifying Ph.D. program.