A Fellow’s time in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) begins with a summer in Princeton, developing a research project with the support of the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity’s (EBCAO) Postgraduate Pathways Summer Institute (PPSI). The PPSI is a residential summer experience on Princeton’s campus that takes place over nine weeks, from early June through early August. During PPSI, students participate in workshops focusing on professional development and humanities research methods. Junior Mellon Mays Fellows apply what they are learning in workshops to designing an independent research project with support from a graduate student mentor. By the end of the summer, Fellows produce a research proposal for their junior project (JP) or another independent research project to start in the fall. 

Students in MMUF participate in the PPSI alongside students from other New Jersey colleges and universities in EBCAO’s Aspiring Scholars and Professionals (ASAP) program. Together, Mellon Fellows and ASAP Interns form a tight-knit community of undergraduates interested in learning about diversifying careers in higher education. At the end of the Institute, each student will present their summer research as part of the Postgraduate Pathways Summer Symposium.

This year’s Postgraduate Pathways Summer Institute dates are Sunday, June 4, 2023 (move-in) through Saturday, August 5, 2023 (move-out). The program will cover the costs of on-campus room and board for participating students during that full period. Fellows who qualify for Continuous Housing at Princeton will need to apply and be approved to receive free on-campus housing during the interim period between the end of the spring semester and the summer move-in date. Fellows who do not qualify for Continuous Housing may choose to work a Commencement or Reunions shift in order to receive on campus housing, or they must vacate their campus room and return for move-in on June 4.

The PPSI is a full-time, paid research program. New Fellows who have already secured an academic or internship opportunity for the summer before committing to MMUF are welcome to participate in that opportunity in place of the PPSI.