McNair Scholars Program Opportunities

Participation in the Boise State McNair Scholars Program involves students in an interrelated set of activities that center around three central components of the program:

1. The design, execution and presentation of a quality, faculty mentor-guided research project;
2. The development and submission of a polished, competitive graduate school application package;
3. Academic enrichment and development of scholarly skills and dispositions sufficient for doctoral study.

Mentor-guided Research

• Research opportunities, including a faculty-directed, graduate-quality, summer research experience supported by a Summer Research Fellowship of up to $2,800.
• Fee waiver for 3 credits of Summer upper division, research-related credits in the Scholar's major field.
• Support in cultivating scholarly knowledge, skills and dispositions--including exposure to the academic profession, graduate and academic culture, disciplinary exploration, etc.
• Ongoing opportunities to network and interact with faculty and graduate school-bound peers in research, academic, and informal settings.
• Support in research methodology and development of a research proposal for the Summer Research Project.
• Support in research design, including development and submission of Institutional Review Board protocol.
• Opportunities to produce, present and publish a scholarly paper/poster/project based on the Summer Research Fellowship experience.
• Support in writing a publishable-quality paper from the Summer Research Project experience for publication in the annual Boise State McNair Scholars Journal [link to: McNair Research Journal page under Resources - currently does not exit] and, if appropriate, in submitting the paper to a professional journal.
• Opportunities to travel to and participate in professional research conferences across the country.

Graduate Application & Admission

• The opportunity to become one of a highly sought after population of undergraduate students, actively recruited by top graduate programs.
• Guidance and support in developing a strategic research application plan that identifies and targets graduate programs that are a "good fit"
• Assistance in making meaningful connections with faculty at graduate programs of interest.
• Assistance in developing a well-crafted, competitive graduate application package--including support writing the statement of academic purpose and securing strong letters of recommendation from faculty.
• Assistance in identifying and securing graduate funding (fellowships and scholarships).
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) preparation and a GRE fee waiver.
• Travel support to visit graduate programs of interest.
• Graduate school application fee waivers from hundreds of top graduate institutions across the US.
• Eligibility for McNair-specific and directed fellowship and funding opportunities at select graduate institutions.

Scholarly Skills & Dispositions Development

• Membership in a vibrant learning community of like-minded students from similar backgrounds with common academic goals.
• Opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with faculty in your field for ongoing guidance in research and scholarship.
• For-credit McNair Seminars and other scholarly activities designed to prepare participants for research activities, develop scholarly skills and dispositions, acquaint students with graduate school processes and academic culture, etc.
• Opportunities to network with faculty, graduate students, and peers across the campus and nation.
• Exposure to cultural events and academic activities and experiences.
• Access to McNair Program resources such as the laptop loan program and computer workstations, access to specialized software, the McNair library, etc.
• Intensive support in 'scholarly skills'--analytic writing, information technologies, bibliographic research skills, etc.
• Mentoring, tutoring, academic counseling and advising.