Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program

Creating pathways to the US academy and shaping the future of the humanities

MMUF Fellows attend the 2025 Graduate Student Summer Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri. Credit: Rachael Hall, courtesy of the American Council of Learned Societies

Current fellows

About MMUF

Established in the 1988/1989 academic year, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) is committed to broadening the range of scholarly perspectives in the US academy, with a focus on the humanities and the humanistic social sciences. Its name honors Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the noted African American educator, statesman, minister, former president of Morehouse College, and mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Founded with an initial cohort of eight member institutions, the program has grown to include 47 programs, including three consortia.

To date, the program has produced more than 1,200 PhDs, more than 800 of whom are currently college professors. Numerous others have taken their valuable humanities training into venues ranging from museums and nonprofit organizations to publishing houses and government positions. At any given time, about 800 MMUF fellows are enrolled in PhD programs, while the fellowship supports approximately 500 undergraduate students each year.

Through activities that emphasize mentoring, research support, and student-cohort building, MMUF programs identify and support students of great promise and help them become scholars and professionals of the highest distinction.

MMUF is proud of its legacy of leading scholars whose perspectives greatly enrich research and teaching in their fields.

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How the MMUF program works

Each year, new MMUF undergraduate fellows are selected from applicants in the rising junior classes of MMUF member institutions. These fellows join the rising and graduating senior fellows in their institution’s MMUF program, where they are provided with mentoring and financial support as they prepare for entry into PhD programs and eventual careers as scholars and faculty members.

The MMUF program also supports fellows enrolled in PhD programs in eligible fields through a suite of programmatic events and grant opportunities. This support continues beyond graduate school into fellows’ postdoctoral and faculty careers.

Learn about the MMUF student experience

MMUF at a glance

1,200+

PhDs earned

Though most MMUF PhDs go on to teach at the university level, our fellows are also employed in higher ed administration, nonprofits, museums and libraries, publishing, government, medicine, and law.