“What sets MMUF apart
is the way it illuminates the connection between diversity and academic excellence; the importance it places on mentoring relationships; its injunction to students to build supportive networks; the positive functions of the cohort; the disposition to collaborate as well as compete; and the obligation to pay these benefits forward to the next generation of young scholars.”
—Armando Bengochea, Director of the program at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Amherst College established the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program in January 2018 through a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to promote diversity and academic excellence in colleges and universities across the United States.
The main idea behind this initiative is to create a supportive academic environment in which five talented undergraduate students are recruited and provided academic training, financial support, and faculty mentoring designed to better prepare them for scholarship and teaching.
All students are welcome to apply for MMUF, though applications are particularly encouraged from African-Americans, Latinos and Latinas, Native Americans, and other underrepresented minorities (URM).
