The Chemistry Merit Program for Emerging Scholars is a challenging program for a select group of undergraduates. The program targets students with high potential who are members of groups, such as ethnic minorities and women, who tend to be underrepresented in the areas of science, mathematics and engineering. The program also targets students from small high schools. The Merit Program is not a remedial program. To be invited into the program, students must have high academic potential and be committed to excellence. One of our main goals in the Merit Program is to develop a community of scholars among the Merit students. The students in our program work together to solve difficult course problems, develop friendships based on common academic interests, and inspire each other to maintain a high level of commitment to excellence.

McNair Scholars program encourages talented minority and disadvantaged students to pursue advanced degrees in the sciences through funding their summer research experience.

Student Success, Inclusion & Belonging units, within Student Affairs, provide support for students to reach their personal, academic, and professional goals through curricular and co-curricular engagement opportunities. The work is rooted in the goals of being more diverse, equitable, and inclusive to create a sense of belonging for students and other members of the university community.

Summer Research Opportunites Program (SROP) — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign offers a summer research program that provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to explore careers in research. The program at Illinois provides students with an experience that will help strengthen their knowledge, skills and understanding of graduate school.