Our Mission

The purpose of the McNair Program is to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.  The mission of Truman's program is to ensure that participants attain their undergraduate degrees on time, encourage them to enroll in graduate programs and then track their progress through to the successful completion of the Ph.D.  The Program will achieve its mission by providing opportunities for high quality research and other scholarly activities, academic counseling, mentoring, tutoring, seminars and other educational activities designed to prepare students for doctoral study, and assistance with graduate school admission and funding opportunities.  Truman received the McNair grant in 1992 and has since operated an exemplary program.

McNair Program Objectives

Objective 1: Participants served during the project year will complete appropriate research or scholarly activities during the McNair Program academic year.
Objective 2: Bachelor's degree recipients will be accepted and enrolled in a postbaccalaureate program of study by the fall term of the academic year immediately following the completion of the bachelor's degree.
Objective 3: First year graduate students will continue to be enrolled in graduate school at the beginning of the fall term of the next academic year.
Objective 4: Participants will attain a doctoral degree within 10 years of the attainment of the bachelor's degree.

Benefits

• One-on-one academic counseling and support
• Faculty mentoring and tutoring
• Paid summer research internships
• Opportunities to present research at professional conferences
• Free GRE preparation
• Paid graduate school visits across the U.S.
• Numerous seminars to prepare students for doctoral study
• One-on-one assistance with graduate program selection and applications