The Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF as of July 2003 renamed the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship) program is the centerpiece of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s initiatives to increase diversity in the faculty ranks of institutions of higher learning.  The MMUF program is administered by over a hundred campus coordinators at 35 institutions and a consortium of 39 historically black colleges and universities within the membership of the United Negro College Fund.

As of January 2008 approximately 2,900 undergraduate students representing 19 cohorts have been selected as Mellon Fellows.  The student constituency has the distinction of high academic achievement with a 98% retention and graduation rate.  To date approximately 60% of MMUF students continue on to graduate school shortly following the baccalaureate, of which about 35% directly enter PhD programs.  About 5% choose professional careers in law and medicine, and many students elect to take time off before entering graduate school.

The results are very encouraging.  Over 250 fellows have earned their PhD and are now teaching around the country.  Twenty-three of these young scholars have achieved tenure.  An additional 150 graduate students are at ABD level and are expected to complete their degree within the next two years.  There are approximately 535 students at various stages of graduate study, and MMUF continues to attract the best and the brightest undergraduates.

In December 2005 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation renewed MMUF for an additional three years, continuing its solid commitment to the betterment of higher education.