Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program is a unique program open to sophomores who apply in January to join a two-year fellowship during their junior and senior years. Funded primarily by the Mellon Foundation, MMUF exists to counter the under-representation of minority groups on college and university faculties nationwide. MMUF encourages minority students, and others with a demonstrated commitment to racial diversity, to pursue academic careers. It provides opportunities for talented undergraduates to work with faculty mentors and sponsors in research and other activities designed to encourage the pursuit of the PhD in the humanities and social sciences (please view the Mellon Foundation website for a specific listing of approved fields). 

Students are required to commit to attend bi-monthly meetings throughout the academic terms of junior and senior years while pursuing independent research guided by a faculty mentor.  Funding is provided for both the academic year and summer session. The regular meetings allow students to hear from distinguished faculty members, learn about the graduate school application process, discuss personal challenges and successes of one’s individual research project, and join like-minded students in a fellowship community.

MMUF has been at Harvard since 1989 and is now run by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. In past years, Sociology concentrators have been very competitive when applying for MMUF, and we strongly encourage any student interested in pursing a PhD to apply. For more information about the program and application process, please visit the application website.