Mellon Undergraduate Transfer Student Research Program

The Brooklyn College Mellon Transfer Student Research Program (MTSRP), which is endowed by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is designed to direct resources to a crucial, but often overlooked population: transfer students. The program connects transfer students in the humanities and social sciences with faculty members to develop a rigorous and independent research project for a semester. In addition to helping students stand out when applying for jobs or graduate school, students earn three course credits and receive a stipend of $1,200.

How to Apply

Applications are currently closed.

Application Guidelines

Program Basics

The MTSRP connects transfer students in the humanities and social sciences with faculty members to develop a rigorous and independent research project for a semester.

Some students pursue independent research related to faculty projects; some are pursuing their own research with faculty support; some are working in research groups.

In addition to meeting regularly with their faculty advisers, the students meet once a month as a group to discuss their ongoing research, share results, and build a sense of community. In the program’s monthly meetings, students are expected to lead the dialogue and collectively participate. Lunch is provided to make it possible for students balancing multiple responsibilities (school, work, family, and intensive independent research) time to eat, get to know one another, and share research ideas, methods, and strategies.

Visit Application Guidelines

Research Opportunities

The program supports three forms of research, which allow different levels of student access and engagement.

A Team Project: Faculty apply with a team of up to four transfer students with a specific research project to be conducted by a team of students. The faculty member writes up the proposal and explains the independent research that each student will conduct as part of the team.
Student-Faculty Research: Student(s) and faculty apply to work on a joint research project in the professor’s current area of research, exploring an aspect of that research. The proposal will outline the specific research project the student will pursue independently with faculty guidance over the semester.
Independent Student Researcher: A student applies with a sponsoring faculty member to work on an independent research project of the student’s own creation. In the proposal, students need to demonstrate some knowledge of the topic and have done previous research or have interest in the area and outline how the research will be conducted.

Past Student Projects