To be eligible to join UM BRIDGES as a trainee, a student must:

• be in enrolled in or admitted to a STEM graduate program at the University of Montana (or have completed a STEM degree already). STEM includes biological, physical, social, and computer sciences, and economics, engineering, and math.
• be in good academic standing. 
• plan to conduct research at the food-energy-water nexus (i.e., research on interactions between at least two of the three nexus areas).
• understand and commit to completing program requirements.
• have a faculty advisor who is willing to support the student’s participation in the program. The advisor must be in a STEM department/program, but does *not* need to be a faculty member affiliated with the UM BRIDGES program.
• become a trainee in the fall of their first or second year of graduate studies (if they are joining the program in their second year, they must demonstrate that they can meet program requirements before graduation).

Individual BRIDGES faculty members may also offer fellowships to incoming students. These students must meet the trainee eligibility requirements, above, and also must: 

• be a US citizen.
• be enrolled in or admitted to a STEM graduate program at the University of Montana. STEM includes biological, physical, social, and computer sciences, and economics, engineering, and math. Fellowship recipients must pursue a research-based thesis or dissertation during their graduate studies.
• become a trainee in the fall of their first year of graduate studies. PhD fellows may join the program in their second year if they can demonstrate that they can meet program requirements before graduation.

We are not currently accepting new trainee applications.

All UM BRIDGES fellowships are awarded by individual UM BRIDGES faculty members, and are generally awarded by spring (generally January-March) in the year that a student is to begin the training program in the fall. All trainees must start the program in the fall semester.

Students interested in being a trainee and hoping to win a fellowship should contact potential advisors that share their research and disciplinary interests from the UM BRIDGES faculty list 9-12 months before they hope to start the traineeship. 

For prospective students interested in a fellowship, we recommend:

1. Review the Training and FAQs pages of this website.
2. Ensure you meet the the eligibility requirements for both the traineeship and fellowship, above.
3. Identify and contact a potential faculty advisor, affiliated with the UM BRIDGES program*, in your area of interest and within the department you wish to pursue your graduate studies. Indicate that you wish to be considered for a UM BRIDGES fellowship. The UM BRIDGES program does not distribute fellowships to students, individual faculty members associated with UM BRIDGES do.
4. If you are offered the fellowship, you will still need to apply to the appropriate graduate degree program through the UM Graduate School application process, which includes submitting information to both the UM Graduate School and your specific department. Note that different departments have different graduate application deadlines (they are listed on departments' websites). In general, many departments require applications to be submitted by January 15 or January 31, although some will accept applications up to 2 months prior to planned enrollment.
5. Students receiving fellowships are automatically enrolled in the UM BRIDGES traineeship, and do not need to fill out the trainee application form unless requested to do so later.

If you are not awarded a fellowship, you may still apply to UM BRIDGES as a trainee. See "How to Apply to the UM BRIDGES Traineeship", above. All prospective graduate students are encouraged to contact potential faculty advisors early and discuss graduate funding resources and opportunities.