On Feb. 2, 2026, the Buff Bulletin announced that the application deadline for West Texas A&M University’s (WT) McNair Scholars program was extended to Feb. 16, 2026.
The program is named after the late Dr. Ronald E. McNair, who was one of the seven astronauts on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1979. Seven years later, the United States (U.S.) Congress created the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program in honor of Dr. McNair’s many achievements. There are currently 189 programs across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. WT’s McNair program was established in 1999. As a federally funded program from the Department of Education, universities must apply for government grants every five years.
Each year, 15 students are selected to participate in the program. Eligible students must meet the following criteria. Applicants must be a WT-enrolled student with at least 60 hours of academic credit and a GPA of 3.0 or higher. They must also be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and continue enrollment for at least one full semester after completing summer research. Lastly, they must be a first-generation college student who meets income eligibility as determined by the U.S. Department of Education.
WT McNair Scholars Director Dr. Victoria Salas has been working in the program since 2002. Salas explained what happens after the application process and acceptance into the program.
“Once they’re accepted [into] the program, they will attend a few orientation meetings, they have a contract that they sign, they select a mentor within their program, the mentor also has a contract that they sign,” Salas said. “Then they go through the summer series for McNair, a three-day, we call it a ‘boot camp,’ [they learn] all kinds of things about grad school and team building because they spend the whole summer together.”
Salas continued by explaining how the rest of the year is broken down for the scholars.
“In the summer, we meet twice a week,” Salas said. “On Tuesdays, we focus on GRE prep, which is the entrance exam into graduate school. And then on Thursdays, we do more soft skills, working on writing, public presentations, and networking. And that’s 8 or 10 hours during the week that’s in the seminar, and then they still have to allow time for their research. So, depending on what they’re doing, they could spend anywhere from 15 to 30 hours a week on that project.”
After the summer seminars, scholars begin presenting their research projects during the fall and spring semesters.
“They’re finishing everything up right around the time school starts,” Salas continued. “Then, in October, we have our research showcase. They do a poster presentation for the whole campus, and it is usually very well attended. And then from there, they are eligible to go to conferences across the country, and they’re able to present either as a poster or as an oral presentation.”
Speech and hearing sciences senior Jocelyn Baca is currently in the McNair program. Baca shared how the program has changed her.
“Going into McNair, I was really good with my time management,” Baca said. “I’ve always been responsible, but I just feel like through the experience of McNair, [it] really has strengthened those traits that I carry, as well as provided me with a lot of knowledge that I previously wouldn’t have gained if it weren’t for McNair, as far as applying to graduate school.”
Baca is currently applying to graduate school, where she hopes to continue her studies in communication disorders. Her ultimate goal is to become a speech pathologist and give back to the community, especially to the bilingual community.
Finance major and senior in the McNair program Julian Rivero also shared how the program has impacted his life.
“I feel like I’ve grown academically and professionally,” Rivero said. “McNair has given us the opportunity to get to know what research is and how we go about it, and we were able to do that through mentorship. I feel that has grown and shaped me into who I am [in the] present day. Just being with other peers who share similar goals has motivated me and held me accountable to become the professional that I want to be and get to my end goal.”
After graduating from WT, Rivero plans on pursuing a master’s in business administration. He hopes to attend Texas Tech University.
For questions or more information concerning eligibility, call 806-651-5295, email [email protected] or visit their contact page.
