McNair Scholars Program Home

MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Program Description

The McNair Scholars Program works with undergraduates who are first-generation and low-income and want to pursue graduate studies. McNair scholars conduct research under the supervision of faculty mentors to become competitive candidates for doctoral programs. Pic: McNair Symposium 2025

Join us for our upcoming informational sessions to learn more about our program, get answers to your questions about eligibility and application materials. We will be providing Zoom and tabling event sessions to accommodate different schedules.

Tabling Info Session
📅 Monday, October 26 | ⏰12:00 – 2:00pm | 📍SMSU Broadway Lobby Area (Second Floor)
📅 Monday, November 2 | ⏰ 2:00 – 3:00pm | 📍Spot 4 outside between SMSU and Cramer Hall
📅 Monday, November 9 | ⏰ 2:00 – 3:00pm | 📍Entrance to the PSU Millar library
📅 Wednesday, November 18 | ⏰ 9:30 – 11:00am | 📍Entrance to the PSU Millar library

Virtual Drop-In Info Sessions — Feel free to drop in anytime during the window below
Zoom Link will be sent to those that RSVP: https://forms.gle/zcVYL7oNsydkA34p8

Virtual Session 4: 📅 Friday, October 30 | ⏰12:00 – 1:00pm
Virtual Session 5: 📅 Thursday, November 5 | ⏰ 12:00 – 1:00pm
Virtual Session 6: 📅 Thursday, November 12 | ⏰ 12:00 – 1:00pm
Virtual Session 7: 📅 Thursday, November 19 | ⏰12:00 – 1:00pm
Virtual Session 8: 📅 Friday, November 20 I ⏰ 4:00 – 5:00pm

MISSION

The PSU McNair Scholars Program provides effective and innovative strategies to help low-income and first-generation students apply to and excel at graduate and doctoral programs.

VISION

PSU McNair scholars excel intellectually and in their vocations.

McNair scholars traveled to Seattle to present their McNair research at the 2025 Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership & Advocacy Symposium. Left to Right: Keanna Garcia Andrade, Annabel Jensen, Kirby Kahl, Sharif Moonligth Maddox, Kooper Wilson, Nate Sjullie

McNair 2026 cohort enjoying a Spring class at the Oak Savanna at PSU

Andrea, Jenny, Thorn, and Kiara at the GEG 2026 national conference in Seattle.

McNair Scholars Axel Lozano-Ortiz and Jisselle Vasquez Parra after receiving their McNair Honor Cords

US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FUNDING

The Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program was established in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education and named in honor of Challenger Space Shuttle astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair. The program, which has been at PSU since 2003, is funded by a five-year grant of $1,429,910.00 from the U.S. Department of Education and PSU institutional cost-share funds.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Portland State University is located in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon in Multnomah County. We honor the Indigenous people whose traditional and ancestral homelands we stand on, the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Watlala bands of the Chinook, the Tualatin Kalapuya and many other indigenous nations of the Columbia River. It is important to acknowledge the ancestors of this place and the sacrifices forced upon them. In remembering these communities, we honor their legacy, their lives, and their descendants.