Devised to help students in graduate and doctoral studies, the Southern University Ronald McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program aims to increase the number of minorities in graduate school.
The program – named after the first Black astronaut Ronald McNair – also gives financial support and advisement to participants.
Program coordinator Linda West said there is more help needed for minority students to get into graduate school and excel.
“Minorities need all the help they can get. There are so many factors that get in the way of under represented minorities when applying and getting into graduate school,” she said.
In order to improve the performance of participants, the two-year program sponsors workshops, conferences, internships and mentored research activities year round.
“The workshops are improvement workshops,” West said. “The workshops discuss the Graduate Record Examination, oral presentations, research, etc.”
Eligibility requirements include an applicant’s desire to earn a double degree. The participant must be a junior or senior and must have a 3.0 grade point average or above. The participant also must be a low income, first generation student and an U.S. citizen.
Alicia Square a senior public relations major from Baton Rouge, is one of the 11 students currently enrolled in the program.
“The program gave me some insight on what is takes to be a successful graduate student,” Square said. “I met a lot of good people. My experience was enjoyable and the program was intense. I learned a lot.”
With plans to increase recruitment and offer more informational workshops, the Southern University Ronald McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program is now looking for more scholars.
“This program is great because it gives undergraduates the opportunity to do research and provides help in applying and getting into grad school. In the future, we plan on providing more graduate school tours and recruiting more scholars,” West said.
For more information on the Ronald McNair Program visit www.subr.edu/socialresearch/McNair.com or call (225) 771-4249.
