Grants, Fellowships, and Loan Repayment

The Mellon Mays Gap Assistance Program (GAP) is a set of post-baccalaureate resources and events for recently graduated MMUF fellows taking a gap year and preparing to apply to Mellon-approved doctoral programs in six or twelve months.  

Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and staff who are interested in contributing to the program as speakers, coaches, and mentors are also encouraged to reach out. If you have questions about the GAP, contact IC&S staff at MellonMaysGAP@citizensandscholars.org.

The Predoctoral Research Grants offer supplementary financial assistance to Mellon fellows to support the completion of their doctoral work. Grants have been designed to allow maximum flexibility, allowing fellows to determine how to best allocate the available funds during their years of eligibility. The SSRC offers three types of predoctoral research grants: the Predoctoral Research Development Grant (PRD), the Graduate Studies Enhancement Grant (GSE), and the Dissertation Completion Grant (DCG).  

The PRD grant is available to second- through fifth-year students (with the exception of South African fellows, who are eligible in their first year) and is subject to a $3,000 maximum. It may be used for small-scale, preliminary research and other activities that support the early investigation of data sources, field sites, data sets, and archival materials. The PRD may be received once per fellow. 

The GSE grant is available to second- through fifth-year students (with the exception of South African fellows, who are eligible in their first year) and is subject to a $1,500 annual maximum. It may be used to defer the costs of conference travel, equipment, books, journal subscriptions, and other necessary supplies. The GSE may be awarded to an individual fellow up to four times. The sum of PRD and GSE grants may not exceed $5,000. 

The DCG is a special award available to fellows in the seventh year of graduate study or beyond who receive little or no institutional support. The DCG is subject to a $2,500 maximum and may be received only once. Fellows must provide a timeline reflecting their plans to complete the dissertation within twelve months of the award date. 

The MMUF Travel and Research Grants are available to MMUF fellows enrolled in qualifying PhD programs. These grants provide eligible graduate students with the financial means to complete their research prior to the start of dissertation writing. Awards are based on the scholarly merit of the individual applications received. 

The Travel and Research Grants provide up to $5,000 for a period of one summer or one semester. Grants may be used to cover dissertation research, travel to/from research sites, and photocopying of documents and/or the purchase of access to databases for research purposes. The award may not be used to purchase computer software or hardware, and may not be used for general living expenses. 

MMUF Dissertation Grants are available to MMUF fellows enrolled in eligible PhD programs. The grants provide graduate students at the critical ABD stage of their doctoral programs with support to spend a year finishing the writing of the dissertation. 

The Dissertation Grant offers up to $20,000 for a 12-month period. Fellows are also encouraged to apply for dissertation support from their home institutions. Winners who do not receive dissertation support from their own institutions are eligible to receive the full amount. The grant will be reduced by funding from other sources to ensure that each awardee receives a maximum award from all sources of $20,000. The Institute for Citizens & Scholars will ask graduate schools to waive tuition for winners of the Dissertation Grant. Candidates must arrange for their own health insurance coverage. 

The Junior Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship seeks to increase the presence of underrepresented junior faculty members and other faculty committed to eradicating racial disparities in core fields in the arts and sciences. The JFCEF is open to junior faculty who have completed their third year of teaching and are preparing for tenure. This competitive program provides participants with a year-long sabbatical, a senior faculty mentor, and a three-day retreat. 

 Eligible faculty must: 

 The award: 

The Fellow's institution is expected to supplement the Career Enhancement Fellowship award with paid leave or other funding so the Fellow receives their academic salary for the year in question. The Fellow's institution is expected to provide yearly health and benefits coverage. The award cannot be transferred to another institution. 

MMUF fellows are eligible for up to $10,000 in loan repayment. Each undergraduate institution establishes its own procedure for facilitating the loan repayment process; fellows requesting loan repayment should contact the MMUF coordinator at their undergraduate institution to initiate the process. Each undergraduate coordinator works directly with their institution's undergraduate financial aid offices to disburse repayment funds.  

For each of the first four years of full-time enrollment in a qualifying PhD program, the Mellon Foundation, through fellows' undergraduate institutions, will repay one-eighth of fellows' undergraduate debts (up to $1,250 per year for a total of up to $5,000). When fellows complete the doctorate, they qualify for an additional $5,000, which must be requested within three years of their receipt of the PhD. Fellows are required to submit a loan deferment form and verify graduate enrollment when requesting payments. 

If a fellow has undergraduate loans totaling less than $10,000, the remaining balance of loan repayment funds may be used to repay graduate loans. Graduate loans may only be repaid upon completion of the PhD. The total amount of loan repayment funds may not exceed $10,000 and may only be used toward designated educational loans from recognized lenders for graduate study. 

Loan repayment and other continuing benefits of the MMUF program are available only to those fellows who enroll in PhD programs in eligible fields within 39 months of graduating from college. Terminal master’s programs are not eligible for loan repayment. Fellows entering eligible PhD programs after being out of college longer than 39 months may write to the associate director of MMUF to be considered for continuing benefits on a case-by-case basis.