The SSRC-Mellon Mays Graduate Initiatives Program aims to address the problem of underrepresentation in the academy at the level of college and university faculties. Funded by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the program provides support for scholars from all backgrounds.To date, more than 700 fellows have received doctoral degrees and nearly 700 fellows are in Ph.D. programs. The Graduate Initiatives Program builds upon the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF) by supporting MMUF fellows from the early stages of graduate school to the post-Ph.D. years. It is only open to Ph.D. students who were selected as Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows. Fellows must enroll in doctoral programs within 39 months of receiving their undergraduate degrees.

Current and Former Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Grant Recipients:
2019: Elena Ayala-Hurtado
2019: Abigail Mariam
2015: Blythe George
2014: Blythe George
2013: Nicole Hirsch
2007: Cassi Pittman

Current and Former Graduate Students Who Were Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows:
Mark Griffith (Dartmouth, 2017-19)
Abigail Mariam (Harvard, 2013-15)
Elena Ayala-Hurtado (Stanford, 2012)
Angela Wang Lee (Yale)
Blythe George (Dartmouth, 2010-12)
Ahmmad A. Brown (Swarthmore, 2005)
Nicole Hirsch (Columbia)
Cassi Pittman (University of Pennsylvania)