The Wilderness Institute Meier Graduate Fellowship provides competitive fellowship awards to graduate students to conduct a research or creative scholarship project or field-based experience with a focus on Wilderness or wildlands. This fellowship is endowed by a gift from Joel and Patti Meier. 

Fellowship requirements. Fellows will work with a faculty advisor to develop a graduate research or creative scholarship project or field-based experience with a focus on wilderness or wildlands. Fellows will document the meaningful impacts and transformative nature of their experience to a larger audience in a format suitable for sharing through WI communications (e.g., website, newsletter, video, social media).

Selection. The Meier Graduate Fellow will be selected by a committee appointed by the Director of the Wilderness Institute. Awards are competitive and shall be made based on academic merit.

Fellowship amount and allowable expenses. The fellowship amount is $7500. Graduate fellowship award expenses may include standard cost of education expenses (e.g., tuition, fees, insurance), student research assistantship stipend, travel expenses, and/or project expenses as determined by the Director of the Wilderness Institute. Funding allocation to different budget categories will be negotiated after selection and will not influence application review. 

Eligibility. Graduate students in the WA Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, as well as graduate students advised by Wilderness Institute faculty with primary appointments in other UM units, are eligible to apply.

Application procedures. Eligible applicants must provide:

1. A personal statement (maximum of 500 words) describing your proposed research or creative scholarship or field-based experience, including a clear description of the project’s focus on wilderness or wildlands. The proposed project may be all or part of a thesis/dissertation, or an experience or project independent of the student’s thesis/dissertation research. Do not submit a project budget.
2. Curriculum vitae that includes degrees earned, professional certifications and credentials, honors and awards, research and creative scholarship, publications, presentations, work experience, and university, professional, and community service (no page limit).
3. A letter signed by the applicant’s faculty advisor stating that the advisor has reviewed and approved the proposed project and that they agree to serve as their project advisor. Faculty advisors should not submit a letter of recommendation. The only content in the advisor letter should be the statement:

“I have reviewed and approved [applicant’s] proposal. I agree to serve as their faculty advisor for the proposed project should they be awarded a Wilderness Institute Meier Graduate Fellowship.”

APPLICATION

The 2024 application is closed. Check back in early 2025 for next year's deadline. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Lukacs
Senior Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies
paul.lukacs@umontana.edu