Application Form

The Princeton Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) application is available in the Global Programs System (GPS). Complete your personal and academic information, and submit the various written components below through the online application as well. Draft and revise your Research Proposal and Personal Statement in separate documents, and attach those in the online application where indicated. Once you enter information about your recommenders, the system will contact them with instructions for how to submit their letters.

All written application materials are due via the GPS portal no later than 11:59pm on Monday, February 17, 2025.

Research Proposal

Propose a research project that you would like to pursue through MMUF. This can be a project that you might consider taking up for your JP or senior thesis, or a distinct project that allows you to pursue another research interest. The research proposal should include all of the following components: 1) the overall purpose of the project, including what concepts you are seeking to understand better and what specific thing you want to study to illuminate those concepts; 2) the geographical, historical, or other context for what you will be focusing on; 3) what other scholars have studied (based on what you know so far from courses or your own reading) that is similar to what you’re proposing and how your research would do something different; 4) the central question (“how” and “why” questions are best) that your research would seek to answer; 5) the three academic fields or disciplines that you think would relate to your research and what you know so far about each; 6) additional research questions for your project that are currently unanswered by those fields or disciplines (as far as you know now); 7) what primary sources or data you think you would need to answer those questions and what methods you would use to collect and analyze those sources; 8) what preparation you already have to do that work (courses, languages, other skills, community connections, etc.); 9) what your personal motive is for pursuing this project and why you think it would make a meaningful difference; and 10) a bibliography or reference list if you have cited anyone else’s work in your proposal. Up to 1000 words

Personal Statement

In this document, make an argument for why you are the right fit for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program and its mission “to address the barriers that result in the problem of underrepresentation in the faculty ranks of higher education.” Tell the story of three (3) key academic, extracurricular, professional, or personal experiences you’ve had and how they inspired your research interests and future goals. Share those future goals in detail by presenting a vivid image of what type of work you would like to do, what kind of impact you would like to have through that work, and on whom you would like to have that impact. Then explain what you understand MMUF to be, how your participation will be of benefit to the program, and how it will help to prepare you for the future you described. Up to 750 words

Academic Writing Sample

Share a sample of your academic writing in the form of an essay that you submitted for a course or research experience. This can be past work or from the current semester. We are looking for an essay that presents a thesis and makes arguments in support of that thesis through analysis of evidence from one or more primary sources (archival material, film, interview, magazine, map, memoir, music video, novel, participant-observation/fieldnotes, philosophical text, poem, short story, social media text, television show, visual art, website, etc.). The essay should also include some form of citations and/or a bibliography. An essay that analyzes at least one primary source alongside secondary sources (scholarly books/chapters or journal articles) is especially well suited for this purpose. Please submit a “clean” copy, without comments. You are welcome to revise the essay according to any feedback you received, though this is not necessary. Up to 1500 words or 5 double-spaced pages (not including references or bibliography)

Letters of Recommendation

Two (2) letters of recommendation from individuals with whom you have had sustained and meaningful academic experiences. Your letter-writers should speak to your intellectual curiosity, your skills in academic analysis and argumentation, your experiences with research (if applicable), what you are like as a member of an academic community, and your potential to pursue an academic career and contribute to the MMUF mission of diversifying the professoriate. Professors who have taught you in one or more undergraduate courses, or who have worked with you on research (even if not at Princeton), are in the best position to write these recommendations. 

Undergraduate Transcript(s)

Provide a transcript of all of your coursework completed, or in progress, at Princeton University. You can access this by submitting a request through TigerHub. If you have ever enrolled in courses at any other colleges or universities, please submit those additional (official or unofficial) transcripts as well.

CV or Résumé

Follow links above to resources from the Center for Career Development on how to produce a CV or résumé (and the difference between the two). You are welcome to submit either type of document. 1-2 pages

Interview

Finalists will be invited to interview with the MMUF Selection Committee. At this stage, the Committee is interested in learning more about your understanding of, and interest in, MMUF; your proposed research; your future ambitions; and your mentorship approaches and needs. Interviews will take place Monday, March 17 through Thursday, March 20. 45 minutes