Eligibility & Applications

Applications must be complete with receipt of supplemental materials and recommendations in order to be reviewed.

Priority Deadline: December 1, 2023

Eligibility

To qualify for program services with the McNair Scholars Program, all applicants must be:

  • U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident, including territories and Freely Associated States of the U.S.
  • Admitted to and enrolled at UA Little Rock in a 4-year program.
  • Have at least a 3.0 GPA at the time of application and by the end of Spring 2024.
  • Have at least 60 credit hours completed by the end of Spring 2024.

And meet #1 and/or #2 of the following Federal Requirements:

  1. Low-income according to federal guidelines (verification federally required) AND a first-generation college student (parent(s)/guardian(s) do not have a 4-year college degree by the time you are 18).
  2. A member of a historically underrepresented group in graduate education (federally defined as American Indian/Alaskan Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander).

Two-thirds of our participants must be determined to be low-income and first-generation college students and one-third of our participants may be a member of an underrepresented group in graduate education, as defined in #2 above. Preference is given to rising juniors and rising seniors with a strong academic record in their area, enthusiasm for their field, and who intend on completing a research doctorate.

Applications

The UA Little Rock McNair Scholars Program accepts 26 students, including returning scholars, each year to participate in a Research Internship; new scholars are required to complete their research during the 12-week, full-time Summer Research Internship (SRI) and returning scholars are provided the opportunity to complete research during the academic year. Students who are eligible and who want to enroll in and complete graduate study, with the objective of completing doctoral (e.g. Ph.D., Ed.D., Psy.D.) study, are encouraged to apply. All students selected for the McNair SRI will be required to be available for workshops and meetings during business hours from May 12, 2023 through August 4, 2023. Scholars may be required to travel over one or two weekends during the SRI.

The text below is for informational purposes only.

Online Application

Three faculty recommendations required. Applicants are responsible for supplying the requisite information to the faculty from whom they’re requesting recommendations.

UA Little Rock Faculty Recommendation Form

Application requirements:

  • Faculty Recommendations
    • You will need to ask three faculty members for recommendations to support your application and supply them with the necessary information and access to the forms. Two of these faculty members should be in your major and/or your desired field of concentration for graduate school. One faculty member can be from any discipline. If possible, all faculty recommendations should come from faculty who possess a doctoral degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., Psy.D., or DSW).
  • Personal Statement
    • You should prepare this statement in advance and have it ready to copy and paste into the online application. The field reads as follows:
      Please submit a brief essay (300 word minimum to 600 word maximum) on your academic and career plans and goals: both your content and structure are important.
      Prompts that should be answered:
      – Describe your dedication/passion to your field and what first sparked it.
      – What areas/topics in your discipline/major do you find most interesting/fascinating? Explain why.
      – What are your long-term academic goals? How will McNair assist you with them?
      – What do you hope to gain from participating in the UA Little Rock McNair Scholars Program?

Supplemental materials:

  1. College Transcripts from all institutions applicant has attended prior to UA Little Rock. Unofficial transcripts printed from BOSS, or the equivalent will be accepted.
  2. Signed copy of the 2021 Federal income tax form (if you are under the age of 24, please turn in a copy of your parent/guardian’s federal income tax form).
    Typically this will be a Form 1040. If Federal taxes were not filed in 2021, you will need to complete an income verification form that you can obtain from the McNair Staff.

Supplemental materials should be turned into the McNair Scholars Program Office in SUB 100E in a sealed envelope with the applicant’s name and “McNair application materials” on the outside of the envelope.  Please provide your own envelope for these materials.