Wilderness Institute

You must have an undergraduate degree, but any major can work. Wilderness is an interdisciplinary field and professionals vary greatly in background. 

Yes, the credits are standard graduate credits from the University of Montana. HOWEVER, as with all credit transfers, it is up to your institution how they count these credits. They may not count towards your specific degree. Contact your institution about how you'd like to use this transfer. UM's graduate school is always happy to answer any questions from your institution.

No, students only pay for the courses they are enrolled in at a time. There is no need to pay for the whole program at once. (There is a one-time, non-refundable application fee when applying to the Graduate Certificate)

Absolutely. You may use the AmeriCorps Award for the tuition, books, and the recording fee. Many past students got into this field by working in wilderness with AmeriCorps.

It depends! Some types of financial aid can be used with additional forms and approvals. If using federal financial aid, you must meet the basic eligibility requirements set by the U.S. Department of Education. You must also meet any requirements and deadlines set by your degree-granting institution for your type of aid.

Students taking Extended Credit courses have successfully used consortium agreements, federal financial aid, AmeriCorps Education Awards, loans, and some scholarships. Start working through your financial aid situation several months before your course, as sometimes aid cannot be granted.

Unfortunately, tuition waivers may not be used for any course listed in the Extended Semesters. Some examples of tuition waivers are Veteran’s Administration Benefits, UM Faculty/Staff Tuition Waiver, American Indian Tuition Waiver, and UM Academic Achievement Scholarship. At this time, 529 Tuition Savings Plans may not be paid to UM for Extended Credit courses.

If you are a degree-seeking student at the University of Montana who is using financial aid, you must complete the Extended Term Agreement with Financial Aid, gain the signature of your degree program chair/dean, and submit the fully signed form to UM Student Financial Services (faid@mso.umt.edu) for processing.

Students have one year to complete coursework once they enroll in a course. The courses can be completed at your own pace within this one year time limit. While you can set the pace, you are not alone! Part of each course involves meetings with your professor to discuss your progress and help you with your research and writing. 

There is no time limit to complete the full certificate, but we recommend maintaining momentum once you begin the program. 

Students can enroll in just one, or multiple courses at the same time, depending on the student's context and situation. NRSM 560, 561, and PTRM 562 can be taken in any order, including concurrently, but NRSM 563 serves as a capstone and cannot be taken until the other three courses have been completed. If you are working full-time then we recommend taking only one or two courses at a time.

Yes! We offer all our courses in undergraduate versions. These courses earn undergraduate college credit through the University of Montana. These courses are perfect for current undergraduates or working professionals without an undergraduate degree. The undergraduate courses, however, do not earn the Graduate Certificate.

Visit the Specialty & Extended Programming site to enroll in undergraduate courses: Wilderness Management Undergraduate Courses

The undergraduate courses differ in the amount of writing and research required. There are writing assignments in the undergraduate courses, but no research paper required. The basic topics and content covered are the same in both.

Of course. You will receive normal enrollment paperwork, the same as any graduate student at UM. If your work needs anything more specific about the program, we can certainly provide it.