Pursuing graduate education can be both incredibly rewarding and costly, as student debt and expenses pile up. Yet, for several University students, those dreams of obtaining an advanced degree are closer within reach thanks to the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which provides academic and financial support to students planning to go on to PhDs. Fourteen students are now involved in the program, which is funded by the United States Department of Education.
Those eligible for the program include first-generation college students from low-income families, and/or African-American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or Native American families. The program accepts applications from freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors on a rolling basis. Second-semester freshmen and sophomores are referred to as McNair scholars, while juniors and seniors are referred to as McNair fellows, according to the website.
According to Associate Director Santos Cayetano, the University previously had federal funding for the McNair program but was denied such funding ten years ago after it failed to meet a certain federal regulation for the program.
The number of students involved in the program increased since the 2007-2008 academic year, in which 20 students were involved. Over the following two years, the number increased to 25 and 33. Although only fourteen students are studying at Wesleyan this semester, involvement will likely rise after applications are submitted for the spring.
Cayetano attributed the trend to various factors, including the growing popularity of the program, marketing, and the fact that the McNair program is the only one of its kind that spans all academic areas. This includes research in the sciences, humanities, and even music. McNair Fellow Claude Moïse ’09 worked with Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Jay Hoggard on his thesis “Jazz, Cartoons, and Jazz Cartoons.”
McNair Fellow Jessica Bowen ’11, a Government and French Studies double major, engaged in research as a sophomore with Associate Professor of Letters and History Ethan Kleinberg, who was at the time the Director of the College of Letters. The following summer, Bowen worked with Assistant Professor of Government Sarah E. Wiliarty, researching immigration in Western Europe.
“During the first semester of my junior year, I became her research assistant for a class that she was creating called ‘Women and Politics,’” Bowers said. “My current research topic is positive discrimination (or affirmative action) at a French university.”
A large proportion of McNair fellows, however, have pursued interests in the “stem fields,” or scientific disciplines. One of these students, Robert Situ ’11, a first-generation Chinese American student, became interested in the biomedical fields as a student at Brooklyn Technical High School. Now, as a biology major with a focus on neurobiology and physiology, his research falls mostly within the field of Biochemistry.
“The decision to apply as a McNair fellow was one of the most important and life-changing decisions in my college career,” Situ said. “The program allows me to be exposed to the world of research and to solidify my future goals.”
Situ is currently at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Charlotte, N.C., where he is presenting some of his recent work, including his summer research project. He praised the great opportunities for networking at the conference, which consists over 3,100 undergraduates, post-baccalaureates, graduate students, post-doctorates, professors, MDs, and PhDs.
Situ asserted that potential faculty mentors are very open to the McNair program due to the fellows it produces.
“All the McNair fellows that I know are diligent, hardworking students, many of whom show the great potential they have for successful post-baccalaureate studies,” Situ said. “That, in combination with the support network behind McNair fellows, is difficult for professors to turn down.”
The group is involved in activities such as summer visits from graduate schools and GRE prep classes. Students also attend lectures sponsored by the Howard Hughes program, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which runs in tandem with the McNair program, but focuses on research in the life sciences. The majority of these lectures are given by professors outside of Wesleyan.
Towards the end of the program, all students attend a large conference held outside of the University, that connects them with other McNair fellows, program directors, PhDs, and others.
Both Bowen and Situ reflected positively on their time with the McNair program.
“I have had the pleasure of seeing the program grow,” Bowen said. “The McNair program in and of itself also helps to prepare us through giving us ample opportunities to network, present our research, attend conferences, and to form a cohort with like minded students.”
Recent McNair fellows have gone on to participate in Ph.D. programs at Harvard and University of Michigan, Masters programs at Columbia and City College, a 4-2 Engineering program at Columbia, and the BA/MA program at Wesleyan. Others have gone on to continue their research in various other mediums and places.
“The program doesn’t just adequately prepare you for post-baccalaureate activity, it really surpasses it,” Situ said.