Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) is a national fellowship program, not a single award you apply to in one place. As described on the official Mellon Foundation page on 2026-10-29, the money flows from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to member institutions, and each member institution selects its own fellows. The practical consequence is that your application goes to your own campus program, and the rules you must meet are set at that level.
What it is and who runs it
MMUF prepares undergraduates for PhD programs and academic careers, with a focus on the humanities and the humanistic social sciences. The program is named after Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the educator and minister who served as president of Morehouse College. It was established in the 1988/1989 academic year with eight member institutions. The official page now lists 47 programs at member institutions, including three consortia.
The funding chain, as the official page states it, has three links:
- The Mellon Foundation recommends the grants.
- ACLS makes the grants to MMUF institutions “on the recommendation of the Mellon Foundation.”
- Member institutions run the local program: they provide mentoring and financial support and choose new fellows each year.
Scale, per the same page: more than 1,200 PhDs have been produced, and about 800 fellows are currently enrolled in PhD programs.
Eligibility
The official page gives one national selection rule: fellows are chosen from applicants in the rising junior classes of MMUF member institutions. In other words, you must be a student at a participating campus (or consortium member) and be heading into your junior year. Everything beyond that is set by the campus.
Campus rules differ, so read your own program’s page. As one worked example, the Cornell College of Arts & Sciences program page (checked 2026-10-29) lists these conditions for Cornell applicants:
- enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences;
- admitted to a major in one of the program’s designated fields;
- a U.S. citizen (the page notes an exception for certain U.S. high school graduates without citizenship, residency or visa status);
- academic promise, good standing, and interest in extensive research.
These are Cornell-specific conditions, not national MMUF requirements. Another campus may define eligibility differently.
What it funds or provides
The official page describes institutional support: mentoring and financial support for fellows preparing for PhD programs, and for fellows in PhD programs, a suite of programmatic events and grant opportunities. Stipend amounts are not published there, so none are stated here.
At campus level, the Cornell page describes the following benefits as an example: faculty mentoring, academic-year research funding, summer research and travel funds, twice-monthly meetings, workshops, annual conferences, and the chance to publish in the MMUF Journal. Treat this list as one campus’s package rather than a guarantee elsewhere.
Application steps
- Confirm your campus is a member. Ask your fellowship or advising office whether your institution runs an MMUF program. Applications are made through the member program, not to the Mellon Foundation or ACLS directly.
- Find your campus program page or fellowship office. Eligibility, deadlines and forms are local.
- Check your timing. Selection is from rising juniors, so the application falls before your junior year.
- Assemble the application. The Cornell page describes academic references and two essays, and says a faculty member or advising dean may nominate a student. Other campuses may ask for different materials.
- Prepare for local selection. Each institution chooses its own fellows, so the selection process is run by the campus program.
Typical timeline phases
The phases below follow from the selection rule on the official page. Dates are not given here because each campus sets its own calendar.
- Before junior year: learn about the campus program, talk to faculty in your field, and identify potential mentors and references.
- Application and selection: submit through the campus program and complete any essays or references it asks for.
- Fellowship years: mentoring, research, and the programmatic events described above.
- PhD applications and beyond: the official page describes continued programmatic events and grant opportunities for fellows who enter PhD programs.
Common mistakes
- Applying to the Mellon Foundation or ACLS directly. ACLS makes grants to institutions, and institutions select fellows, so a direct application has no destination.
- Assuming every campus has the same rules. The Cornell example shows citizenship, college and major conditions that another campus may not share.
- Reading a campus page as the national rule. A campus page describes only its own program, so check it against the national description above.
- Waiting until after junior year begins. The official selection pool is rising juniors.
- Confusing MMUF with the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship. They are different programs for different career stages; see the related programs table below.
Related programs
| Program or topic | How it relates | CASRAI page |
|---|---|---|
| Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship | A separate Mellon and ACLS program, distinct from MMUF | Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship guide |
| NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program | A national fellowship for graduate study, covered in its own guide | NSF GRFP eligibility and application requirements |
| Summer undergraduate research experiences | Another route to undergraduate research | Summer undergraduate research experiences |
| SURF | A summer undergraduate research fellowship term | SURF dictionary entry |
| Research fellowship | The general term | Research fellowship definition |
FAQ
Who funds the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship?
The official page states that MMUF institutions receive grants from ACLS, made on the recommendation of the Mellon Foundation.
Do I apply to Mellon or ACLS?
No. Fellows are selected by participating institutions from rising juniors at member institutions, so you apply through your campus program.
How many institutions take part?
The official page lists 47 programs at member institutions, including three consortia, up from eight member institutions at the start.
When did MMUF begin?
The official page says it was established in the 1988/1989 academic year.
How much is the stipend?
The official program page does not publish an amount. Funding is described as mentoring and financial support from member institutions, and your campus program page is where amounts, if any are published, would appear.
Sources
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship: https://www.mellon.org/mmuf (checked 2026-10-29).
- Cornell College of Arts & Sciences, Mellon Mays program page (campus example): https://as.cornell.edu/mellon-mays (checked 2026-10-29).
