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 About Missoula, Montana

The Department of State’s J-1 Exchange Visitor Program provides foreign nationals (including scholars and researchers) with opportunities to participate in educational and cultural programs in the U.S. and to return to their home country to share their experiences.  The Form DS-2019 or "Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status" is the basic document used in the administration of the exchange visitor program. This form permits a prospective exchange visitor to seek an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate in order to obtain a J visa to enter the United States. Each year, a number of visiting scholars from abroad spend time in residence at the University of Montana through the J-1 program. To Request a DS-2019, please work with your sponsoring UM department to complete the following forms.

To be completed by the sponsoring UM Department: J-1 Exchange Visitor Staff Appointment Form

To be completed by the prospective exchange visitor: J-1 Exchange Visitor Packet

If you are a prospective visitor that is already in the U.S., please complete the Scholar Transfer Clearance Form.

The University of Montana is a comprehensive, doctorial research university located in Missoula, Montana with affiliated campuses in Helena, Dillon, and Butte. The university offers a wide array of degree program in the liberal arts, sciences, professions, and technical fields.

Programs of study include forestry, education, law biology, engineering, foreign languages, business, and other fields. The University enjoys an international reputation in forestry, natural resources, and environmental science. 

The University has been involved in international education, consulting, and research for over seventy years. The student body represents over fifty nations and has a research and development record that extends to nearly every continent. The University has achieved a comparative advantage in fields that relate directly to Asia and the Pacific Rim, however the array of international program and scholarship is comprehensive in regional and disciplinary representation. 

• A rich variety of strong international academic, research, and training activities across a spectrum of fields and disciplines.
• A faculty with strong credentials in the international arena, including a prolific record of research and scholarship of an international nature. The faculty are widely traveled, competent in foreign languages, conversant in the international aspects of their fields of study, and frequently called upon to provide funded services to international constituencies. 
• Strong administrative support and encouragement for international activities by faculty.
• A historic commitment to international education which has included student study abroad, recruitment and retention of international students, international university linkages and exchanges, and the inclusion of global content in nearly all academic fields of study. 
• An excellent record of bringing international faculty and staff to the Missoula campus for teaching, research, and service assignments. 

The University of Montana hosts a variety of scholars from all over the world. Many of our scholars come on exchange programs, short-term training, and as conference attendees. The University of Montana has several Internationally recognized centers of excellence in several fields;

• Bolle' Center (Forestry)
• Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center (Asia & the Pacific Rim)
• Center for the Rocky Mountain West (Regional Studies)
• Montana World Trade Center (Global Trade & Business)
• Wilderness Institute (Wilderness Research & Education)
• Forest and Conservation Experiment Station (Forestry)
• Biotechnology Center (Biological Research)
• Numerical Terra-dynamic Simulation Group (Global Climate Change)
• Rural Institute (Disability Education, Research & Service)
• Center for Bimolecular Structure and Dynamics (basic and biomedical sciences)
• Center for Environmental Health Sciences (Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science)
• The National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis (Forestry)

Missoula is also the home of the world renowned International Heart institute at St. Patrick's Hospital. The University of Montana and St. Patrick's Hospital are both affiliated with the International Heart Institute.