MMUF Graduate Support

SSRC and WWNFF

When MMUF fellows become graduate students in one the Mellon-designated fields, they become graduate fellows and are eligible for new forms of support through the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WWNFF). The SSRC administers summer conferences, predoctoral grants, and dissertation workshops for MMUF graduate fellows. The WWNFF administers grants to support travel and research and dissertation writing. See  for more information.

To be eligible for support through these organizations, graduate fellows must stay up to date with the Mellon Foundation by filling out the on-line annual report. The Pathways for Inclusive Excellence Office also updates its information on each fellow every fall.

Loan Repayment Program

Fellows who enroll in a PhD program in a Mellon eligible field within 39 months of receiving an undergraduate degree are eligible for a loan repayment opportunity through the MMUF. The program will repay up to $10,000 of undergraduate debt accrued through Perkins, Stafford, or Williams College in five installments. For each of the first four years of graduate school, a fellow can request up to $1,250 in repayment. Upon completion of the PhD, the fellow can request the remaining $5000.  Graduate students should contact the Pathways for Inclusive Excellence Office to obtain the loan repayment request form, which requires the signature of a graduate school dean. Payment is made from the Williams College MMUF directly to the lending agency.  Students with undergraduate debt totaling less than $10,000 may, upon completion of the PhD, request repayment of graduate students loans from designated educational lenders for graduate study (i.e. Sallie Mae) such that the total repayment would not equal more than $10,000.