Applications for the 2025-2026 Joint Application for the Early Identification Program and TRIO McNair Scholars Cohorts are being accepted for students graduating in Spring 2026 or later. Our application consists of both a written application and an in-person interview.
Application Deadline
Monday, January 27, 2025, 11:59 pm
Please read the instructions and gather all application components before submitting your application.
Instructions for filling out the online form
If you need to make changes after you submit the form, please email us at uwmcnair@uw.edu and submit an additional form. However, no changes will be accepted after the submission deadline.
The application material we collect serves two purposes. First, it provides the UW McNair and EIP staff with information to help us make program admission decisions. Second, the UW McNair program must collect and maintain eligibility information for the Department of Education. See our information and privacy disclosures at the bottom of the page.
This is a joint application for both of our graduate school preparatory programs. As part of the application, you will select if you want to be considered for just EIP-Scholars, Just McNair-Scholars, or both programs. If you are applying to be considered for the TRIO McNair program, there is an additional section on the application where we collect financial information. Please contact us if you have any questions about which program you should apply for.
Application Part 2 only needs to be completed by applicants if they are selected for an interview in mid-February. Applicants will receive additional instructions and the necessary electronic forms to fill out.
In order to complete the application form, everyone will need the following information:
- Your demographic information, Name, gender, and race/ethnicity.
- Your UW GPA (if you have one).
- Your current number of UW and total academic credits.
- Your major(s) or intended major.
- A copy of your Financial Aid Award Letters (if you applied for Financial Aid)
- The 4 Items that you will be uploading as part of the Application Form:
- Your Written Response to the Personal Statement- saved as a pdf
- A copy of your current Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) (pdf)
- Writing Sample (At least 2 pages in length that was completed within the last 12-16 months (e.g., a paper from a course.))
- Unofficial copy(ies) of college transcript(s). Note that we do not expect you to pay for transcripts. Do not worry about including transcripts if you cannot easily obtain your transcript from a non-UW school. If this is the case, let the McNair team know.
For everyone applying to the McNair Scholars program, you will also need the following information:
- Parent(s) or Guardian(s) education level. For determining first-generation status.
- Citizenship or Immigration Status.
- Taxable Income for the 2023 tax year was submitted to the IRS in 2024. See below for more detailed information about taxable income.
Information about taxable income
Your submission of Taxable Income must come from the tax return filed in 2024 for the 2023 tax year. If you are a dependent, this is your parent’s or guardian’s taxable income. If you are considered independent according to FAFSA, it is financial information from your tax filing. Taxable Income is not the same as Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Taxable income is income after deductions are subtracted. On the 2024 tax form 1040, taxable income is found on line 15.
Instructions
The short answer questions should be between 3 and 6 sentences and be a direct response to the prompt. These questions can be typed or copied directly into the text boxes on the electronic application form. To make filling out the form more manageable, we recommend writing them in a Word or Google doc and then using the copy/paste functions.
1. Graduate School Interest Prompt
Tell us about your graduate school interests. In 3-6 sentences, tell us about the type(s) of graduate programs (i.e., Ph.D., Master’s, etc.) you might be interested in and why.
For example:
- What are your educational and career aspirations?
- How would graduate school support you in achieving these goals?
- If you have specific programs in mind, please tell us about those as well.
2. Academic Engagement Prompt
a. Research Interests: (for everyone applying to the TRIO McNair Program or EIP-Scholars Research Pathway)
Tell us about your research interests. In 3-6 sentences, describe what you would like to study and why. This can be during your undergraduate, graduate, or professional career.
For example:
- What impact do you want to make through your involvement in research?
- Is there a specific social, environmental, or health problem you would like to address?
- Or is there an academic area that you are incredibly passionate about?
b. Experiential Learning Prompt: (for everyone applying to EIP-Scholars Exploratory or Leadership & Advocacy Pathways)
Tell us about your current or future engagement in experiential learning and the impacts that you hope to make. In 3-6 sentences, describe what you are currently doing or hope to accomplish during your time as an undergraduate. Include opportunities such as study abroad, volunteer or civic engagement, leadership activities or internships. Tell us about your involvement and your motivations and goals with your activity(ies). Finally, describe how the opportunity impacts your graduate school goals.
- Community volunteering / Mutual Aid
- Internships- paid or unpaid educational internships.
- Involvement in an RSO
For example:
- What impact do you want to make as a leader
- Is there a specific social, environmental, or health problem that you would like to address?
- Is there an academic area or community need that you are passionate about?
3. Program Impact Prompt
Tell us why you are applying to be part of the GSPS programs. In 3 – 6 sentences, tell us what you hope to learn and achieve by participating in the McNair Scholars or Early Identification Programs.
4. Community Engagement Prompt
In 3-6 sentences, tell us how you engage with and within your communities through extra-curricular activities, work, or volunteering.
Community is defined broadly and can be a student organization, religious group, or family, among other things. If applicable, include how community engagement connects with or influences your research and graduate school goals.
Similarly, we consider engagement broadly. Depending upon the context, this may include work, volunteering, or participating in family activities and family obligations.
Personal Statement Essay Prompt
The 1-page personal statement essay should be well-written and answer the prompt about your educational journey. We recommend that you have your paper edited and use one of the UW Writing Centers, either at Odegaard or the Instructional Center. This essay should be written in Word or Google Docs and saved as a PDF before uploading to the Application Form.
Describe your personal educational journey. We want to hear your story and what shapes your interests and motivates you to pursue your goals.
For example:
- What are your current and future educational interests?
- What factors influenced the development of these interests? These can happen inside or outside the classroom.
- If applicable, what is your family’s educational background, and how has that influenced your educational journey?
- What is your academic plan (major(s), minor(s), etc.), and how does this plan of study connect to your educational and research interests?
- What is your projected timeline for completing your degree and attending graduate school?
- What do you enjoy about your current academic work, and what do you hope to learn and achieve from your fields of interest?
- Finally, include information about your academic successes and challenges.
This Essay should be 1-page maximum, single-spaced, 11 or 12 pt font Times New Roman or similar, 1″ margins. Upload a PDF copy of your essay.
Based on the written application in Part 1, applicants will be selected to participate in a 30-minute in-person interview with the EIP & McNair team in February. This interview will focus on your written responses from Part 1 and provide applicants with an opportunity to ask questions. Invitations to schedule an interview will be sent out during the second week of February.
Instructions
**This information will only be collected if you are selected for an in-person interview in February.**
As part of your application, you will report the income that either you or your parents/guardians filed with the U.S. IRS and/or with FAFSA. We also need to receive a signed copy of the income verification form, which we will send to you if you are selected for an interview. Note that if you are considered a dependent for FAFSA, you must have this form signed by your parent or guardian.
Why is this information necessary?
As a federally funded TRIO program, the McNair Scholars Program is required to provide documentation of a student’s eligibility for the program to the U.S. Department of Education and implement the TRIO regulations that state two-thirds of the students served must meet federal low-income guidelines. The information on taxable income that is collected will only be used to determine or verify TRIO Student Support Services program eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education provides more information about TRIO and eligibility requirements online at Dept. of Education TRIO Income Eligibility.
Information Privacy
Applicants’ demographic information, personal or family income levels, family degree attainment, and citizenship status are all retained electronically by the UW McNair Scholars program for the duration of the grant. The UW McNair Scholars program assures that all family income and student information we collect is kept secure and confidential using University of Washington-approved and maintained systems and never provided to any State or Federal agency other than the Department of Education.