Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

• Be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status.
• Be an undergraduate student enrolled at least half-time at one of the STARS institutions with a STEM field major (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
• Demonstrate financial need.
• Have a strong interest in STEM and maintain strong academic standing in their respective fields or demonstrate a track record of high performance in preparatory STEM courses (incoming first-year college students). 

Application Deadlines

Priority deadlines by institution:

Salish Kootenai College - the second Monday of spring quarter (April 8, 2024), the third Monday in fall quarter (Sept 23, 2024), and the 1st of December.

University of Montana - April 15, 2024. We will continue to review applications beyond the deadline until all scholarships have been awarded.

Montana Tech - March 18, 2024. We will continue to review applications beyond the deadline until all scholarships have been awarded.

Blackfeet Community College - June 1, 2024.

Application Requirements

In addition to the online application, please supply the following required materials:

1. Personal statement. (Upload file below) Please address the following (two-page, single space maximum)
   1. Why are you requesting this scholarship?
   2. What are your career goals?
   3. Why STEM?
   4. Discuss your ability to overcome challenges and leadership potential.
2. Transcript - Unofficial academic transcripts from High School and/or college demonstrating academic talent.
3. Two academic Letters of Recommendation. (Provide this link to your referees - https://umt.edu/stars/letter-of-recommendation.php.)

Instructions

The application must be completed in one session. Please read through the application and prepare/gather all materials before beginning. If you encounter any trouble submitting the online application, please email stars@skc.edu.

Having problems with reCAPTCHA?  The first troubleshooting steps are to make sure you have the most updated version of your browser and are not using a VPN or proxy service. Some of our applicants have found using MS Edge browser to be the easiest solution.  Here's an article on issues and fixes: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/recaptcha-not-working-in-any-browser.