We value the talents, unique cultural wealth, and lived experiences that each graduate student brings to our community. Our students reflect a broad range of ages, abilities, sexual orientations, body sizes, religious beliefs, class backgrounds, and home languages, all of which contribute to the rich diversity of our vibrant campus. Academic communities thrive in environments that foster mutual respect for this diverse range of identities. Diversity has great potential to generate new ideas, whether they come from research findings, changes in demography, new experiences that shape the public sphere (like COVID or AI), or innovative thinking about core aspects of personal and cultural identity.

Graduate education benefits most from diversity when it models the highest ideal of intelligent, informed debate that is central to a free society. In a research community, respectful discourse and informed debate are essential components of growth and change, but all modes of intellectual exchange must be managed alongside other values, including: academic freedom, inclusive community discussion, and a desire to seek the best outcomes for the greater good of our society.

Belonging is essential to the Graduate School’s mission. We strive to create a community where all members are validated for their vital role in advancing our society through their research and creative activity. As they complete their degrees, we hope that our graduate students will become leaders in their fields, inspiring further progress and expanded representation of the diversity of our broader culture after leaving campus.

We also operate with cultural humility, which requires us to acknowledge the limits of our own experiences, while validating the different experiences others bring to their lives and work. We humbly acknowledge, as well, that as individuals and as an institution, we are works-in-progress, striving toward the ideals of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, while not always achieving them. We openly encourage feedback and participation in this important collective work by all members of our community.  

We hope to cultivate and foster a graduate community where students feel safe to embrace who they are, live authentically and ethically, and achieve their highest potential. The Graduate School is dedicated to sustaining this collaborative, respectful environment so students can reach for the stars and always have a safe place to land. 

For more on UM’s mission, we encourage you to explore the University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan.

Land Acknowledgment

Es mistéʔes qe es lʔ, ci łu l ,T,atʔ̓ ayaqn u Qlispélixʷ sqlixʷúʔulexʷs t Nłʔaycčstm Kʷtis Snacx̓ ̣łqe̓ ym̓ ín. Qe es putʔem łu Sqélixʷ m̓ im̓ éʔeye̓ ms x̣ʷl ,olqʷštulexʷ łu x̣ʷl ,qł sqlqelixʷ. (Salish text by Aspen Decker)

(The University of Montana acknowledges that we are in the aboriginal territories of the Salish and Kalispel people. We honor the path they have always shown us in caring for this place for the generations to come.)