What do you want to have accomplished in 15 years?

What is your secret dream, the one you almost don’t dare to articulate because it seems so impossibly out of reach?

The answer is your Plan A, and it is the future you long for but don’t know how to create — and that's where the Office of Fellowships and the McNair Scholars Program at St. Edward’s can help.

Excelling academically at a private university is no small feat. Yet students from St. Edward’s University stand out when they apply for prestigious scholarships, fellowships and graduate schools. These programs provide a unique inside look at a particular field or area of research — and an opportunity to earn an allowance for living expenses, study abroad or research.

Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program

For undergraduate students challenged by financial, social or other obstacles that may prevent them from pursuing doctoral degrees, the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program opens up new opportunities. McNair Scholars at St. Edward’s have gone on to graduate studies at Stanford and Columbia universities, Harvard Divinity School and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, among others. Students in the McNair Scholars Program show strong academic potential, a commitment to postgraduate study and a passion for rigorous research.

#1 Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students

St. Edward’s was named the nation’s top producer of U.S. Fulbright Students among master’s-granting institutions in 2018–2019 and in 2015–2016. Since 2008, 75 Fulbrights have been awarded to our students to teach and conduct research in 19 countries. Meet some of our past Fulbright recipients.

What are the benefits of the McNair Scholars Program?

  • Guidance from a faculty mentor who provides advice, research direction and an introduction into the academic profession
  • Presentation of your research at national conferences and in a St. Edward’s faculty blind-reviewed research journal
  • Individual assistance in preparing graduate school applications
  • Seminars that provide insights into being a graduate student and help get you ready for graduate studies
  • Fully funded GRE test preparation
  • Visits to graduate schools
  • Application fee waivers from participating graduate schools

McNair Scholars may be eligible for Summer Research Internships, which include:

  • An eight-week stipend of up to $2,800
  • Paid room and board on campus
  • Three semester hours of tuition-free credit
  • An opportunity to present your research at the St. Edward’s University McNair Research Symposium

Fellowships

With opportunities ranging from teaching English abroad to conducting neuroscience research, high achieving students can explore their passions through fellowship programs offered by private foundations and government agencies. Fellowships are available in a range of disciplines such as humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, law, finance and many others.

St. Edward’s University can assist you with identifying and preparing applications for a variety of fellowships, including:

McNair Scholars Program Eligibility Requirements (PDF) 

  • American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program
  • Andrew Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies
  • Cintas Fellowships
  • Common Ground Fellowship in Creative Responses to Homelessness
  • Coro Fellows Program
  • Donald Harrington Graduate Student Fellows Program – University of Texas
  • Ford Foundation – Pre-doctoral Fellowships for Minorities
  • Fulbright U.S. Student Program
  • German Chancellor Scholarship
  • Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship
  • Hertz Foundation
  • Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program
  • James H. Dunn Jr. Memorial Fellowship Program
  • James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
  • Minority Fellowship Program in Neuroscience Training
  • Minority Graduate Fellowships – National Science Foundation
  • National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships
  • National Physical Science Consortium – Graduate Fellowships
  • National Science Foundation
  • Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
  • Pre-doctoral Fellowships in Biological Sciences
  • Russian-U.S. Young Leadership Fellows for Public Service Program
  • Self Graduate Fellowship – University of Kansas
  • Stoody-West Fellowship
  • The Urban Fellows Program

Name: Anna Davies ’16
Hometown: McKinney, Texas
Major: Marketing
Destination: Malaysia

 

As a sophomore, Davies took a global business course in Japan and became fascinated with the country’s aesthetics and design. And her junior year, Davies traveled to South Africa as part of the university’s Service Break Experience to work in a children’s home, where she often communicated with kids by drawing, storytelling and singing. “I realized I can use my eye for design to communicate in other cultures,” she says. Now she’s excited to travel to Malaysia, an opportunity that will test her communication skills while also immersing her in the colors, textures and visual stimulation of Southeast Asian culture.