Undergraduate Research and Independent Projects

Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program

Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF)

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) is a national undergraduate research fellowship committed to “broadening the range of scholarly perspectives in the US academy, with a focus on the humanities and the humanistic social sciences.” The Fellowship is supported by the Mellon Foundation, and the name honors Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the noted African American educator, statesman, minister, former president of Morehouse College, and mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Established in 1988, Stanford is now one of 47 MMUF chapters across the country fostering a new generation of scholars and professors, and more than 800 graduate alumni serving as faculty.

Stanford seeks sophomore applicants interested in becoming professors in the humanities who will bring new perspectives to the academic community. As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow at Stanford, you will join a community of juniors and seniors all committed to the same goal—earning a doctorate in the humanities, with a focus on scholarly research that expands the range of topics and experiences represented in your major field.

Benefits and Expectations

Stanford Benefits

  • Structured mentoring and faculty guidance for the pathway to applying for PhD programs
  • Annual stipend up to $7500
  • Eligible to apply to MMUF summer research programs at University of Chicago and UCLA

Graduate Benefits

Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows who attend PhD program in Mellon-eligible fields will receive up to $10,000 in undergraduate loan repayment, as well as invitations to the Graduate MMUF Conferences, which bring together students from MMUF programs across the nation, and the ability to apply for dissertation and research grants to support the progress toward the PhD.

Stanford Expectations

  • Attend 1-unit biweekly seminar in junior and senior years
  • Submit quarterly report of Mellon-related activities
  • Participate in MMUF Western Regional Conference in fall (unless studying abroad)
  • Design and complete an undergraduate honors thesis 

Eligibility

  • Applicants should be current sophomores with two full years remaining in their undergraduate career at Stanford
  • Applicants should have a strong academic record
  • Applicants should be interested in earning a PhD in the humanities or humanistic social sciences, particularly including but not limited to:
    • Anthropology and Archaeology
    • Area/Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Studies
    • Art History
    • Classics
    • Geography and Population Studies
    • English
    • Film/Cinema/Media Studies
    • Musicology/Ethnomusicology/Music Theory
    • Foreign Languages and Literatures
    • History
    • Linguistics
    • Literature
    • Performance Studies/Theory
    • Philosophy and Political Theory
    • Religion and Theology
    • Theater
    • Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Applicants should be interested in a college or university teaching career in the humanities and related fields
  • Please note that Mellon does not support graduate study in law, medicine, engineering or other professional schools
  • F1 visa holders are ineligible for the fellowship

More Information & Faculty Luncheons

To learn more about the program and what it means to be part of MMUF, please join us at one of the faculty conversations hosted this winter quarter. Please register for a conversation to receive location and meal details. Priority will be given to eligible sophomore MMUF candidates, then to potential future frosh candidates.

If you cannot attend any faculty conversations, please join the MMUF Interest List to ensure you receive application reminders and details.

Please also feel free to speak with one of the MMUF Coordinators:

Application Process

The final application is due in week 2 of spring quarter: Monday, April 6

Students will submit:

  1. One page personal statement on the following question:
    • To get a PhD is to join a scholarly conversation. How do you imagine that your research and participation might change the scholarly conversation around your topic? What new elements do you think you would bring?
  2. Two to three-page essay on one of the following topics:
    • Your academic interests, the area you plan to study in depth, and why
    • An academic experience that has motivated you toward advanced study
    • A situation in which you felt like a scholar: What intellectual experience or scholarly discovery inspired you?
  3. Two letters of recommendation
  4. Transcript

To ensure you receive application updates and reminders for the faculty conversation series, please join the MMUF Interest List.

All applicants are invited to submit a preliminary draft application (no letters, but please list potential references) by Monday, March 2 and attend a dinner workshop on Thursday, March 5.

Submit the application HERE.

The final application with letters will be due Monday, April 6.

Results will be announced by May 15.