In honor of his achievements, the United States Congress and the McNair family formed the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. The McNair Program strives to increase the number of students with doctoral degrees. Through a supportive network of institutional faculty and staff members, high achieving students are encouraged to prepare for graduate education and careers as college and university professors.

In many ways the program captures the inspiration behind McNairs achievement and directly reflects his desire to see others equally triumphant. There are presently 160 plus programs at various colleges and universities across the country.