McNair Graduate Scholars Program

McNair Graduate Scholars Program

Graduate School applicants who successfully completed the undergraduate McNair Scholars Program are eligible to receive a graduate application fee waiver and may be eligible to receive a tuition and fee waiver.

UL Lafayette will offer up to 20 graduate tuition and fee waivers (for two years) to qualified master鈥檚 level students. Interested applicants must be admitted to the UL Lafayette Graduate School to qualify. View our Application Information page to ensure all documents are submitted to gain admission. 

Required Materials

In addition to the materials submitted as part of the Graduate School application for admission, the McNair Graduate Scholars Program application packet should include:

  • a signed letter (on letterhead) from a McNair Director stating that the applicant is a successful completer of a McNair Scholars undergraduate program (the graduate application non-refundable fee waiver will be applied upon receipt of this letter);
  • a personal letter with contact information (sending an e-mail to gradschool@louisiana.edu will suffice) indicating that he/she is applying for the McNair Graduate Scholars Program along with a description of experiences thus far as a McNair scholar and research and academic interest moving forward; and
  • three letters of recommendation regarding the student's abilities as a McNair Scholar (recommendation letters from the Graduate School application can be used to fulfill this criteria upon request).

Requirements

Immediately after being admitted to a UL Lafayette master鈥檚 degree program, the student must contact the Graduate School at 337-482-6965 to schedule a meeting with the Dean of the Graduate School to discuss their application to the McNair Graduate Scholar Program.

Those accepted into the McNair Graduate Scholars Program receive a waiver of tuition and most fees but are required to be full-time graduate students in any enrolled semester. Nine hours of graduate course work is considered full-time for the Spring and Fall semesters and six hours of graduate credit is considered full-time for Summer semesters.

NOTE: Graduate students who are enrolled in graduate programs with special pricing structures (e.g., employee tuition discount, flatrate online tuition rates, package price programs like online MBA) cannot receive both special pricing and tuition waivers, either as McNair scholars or as graduate assistants. Although, McNair scholars in a special pricing program are eligible for the graduate application non-refundable fee waiver.