Graduate School Newsletter

May 2025

Important Announcements

Message from the Dean

We deeply value all our graduate students and consider you to be an integral part of the land grant university. Of special note is the international graduate student body. Our Office of International Programs (OIP) provides substantial resources to international students, depending on each student’s needs. Any international student with questions or concerns is encouraged to come to OIP for individual, in-person assistance.

It is the time of year when students are busy with end of year projects, theses, dissertations, and papers. Self-care can go out the window, but I encourage you to make a little time to take care of yourself. Check out our GradCat Wellness webpage for tips on thriving in graduate school.

Lastly, congratulations to our spring 2025 graduates!
Dean Deborah Haynes

Additional resources:

Understanding Recent International Student Visa Revocations
Funding Updates Website
ASMSU Legal Services offers students affordable legal services for a wide range of legal issues. International students can access this service for free, regardless of fees. (best for non-immigration advice)
Counseling & Psychological Services (CPS) provides free and confidential counseling services to students. International students can access this service for free, regardless of fees.

3-Minute Thesis Competition

MSU’s 3-Minute Thesis Competition was held in April. Congratulations to the following nine graduate student contestants:

Sophia Lattes (MS) Land Resources/Enivron Science (1st place)
Yunfeng (Barry) Wei (PhD) Psychology (2nd place)
Stevens Shea (PhD) Electrical Engineering (3rd place)
Ethan Viles (PhD) Mechanical Engineering
Rana Taheri (PhD) Education
Twila Yellow Horse (PhD) Education
Faith Droszcz (PhD) Agricultural Education
Het Desai (PhD) Ecology & Environmental Science
Gauri Gaur (PhD) Microbiology & Immunology

Message from Grad Student Leadership Council (GSLC)

The Graduate Student Leadership Council (GSLC) is always looking to gather feedback regarding the graduate student experience so that our group can best advocate for the interests of the graduate student body. We’d love to hear your feedback through our GSLC Feedback Form on topics ranging from housing to resources and everything in between!

Please visit the *NEW* GSLC Website for more GSLC updates.

Office Hours:
We also encourage attendance at our GSLC Strategic Meetings; fall meetings TBD. If you'd like to find another time to meet, please reach out to the GSLC Chair Michaela Johnson to set something up.

Upcoming Dates & Deadlines

Full List of Grad School Dates & Deadlines

May 8–Last day of classes. Spring semester ends. Last day to withdraw Graduation Application and file for One-credit Extension.
May 19- Summer classes begin.
May 26- Memorial Day holiday (no classes; offices closed)
June 5- One-credit Extension deadline; last day for formatting approval of Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) by the formatting advisor. 5PM deadline.
June 10- Last day for graduate students to file for graduation in MyInfo or via a Graduation Application (only used when a student has applied for the same degree in a prior term).
July 4- Independence Day holiday (no classes; offices closed).
July 25- Last day for master’s and doctoral comprehensive examination or thesis/dissertation defense if the student plans to graduate Summer 2025.
Aug 1- Last day for formatting approval of Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) by the formatting advisor. 5PM deadline. Submission of draft at minimum 2-3 weeks prior.
Aug 8- Last day of semester. Classes end for 12 week and second 6 week. Last day to withdraw Graduation Application and file for One-credit Extension.

Funding and fellowships graphic

Funding & Fellowships

North Fork Preservation Association (NFPA) Kreck/Fields Wilderness Scholarship

The North Fork Preservation Association (NFPA) is pleased to offer the Kreck/Fields Wilderness Scholarship to a graduate student at a Montana institution of higher education. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student who is using their education to advocate and promote wilderness protection and preservation. Specific fields of study can be but are not limited to wildlife biology, ecology, environmental studies, environmental law, journalism or the expressive arts.

The value of the scholarship is $2000, awarded annually, and the application deadline is June 30th. For more information, please visit the NFPA Kreck/Fields Wilderness Scholarship Webpage.

GrantForward – Sign Up to Get Notifications for New Funding!

GrantForward is MSU’s relatively new funding opportunity search engine and works great for graduate student relevant opportunities. Anyone with a “montana.edu” email can create a free account, and then they can perform tailored searches for relevant funding opportunities including fellowships and research grants specifically for grads. Other awesome features include setting up saved searches to use again and again to find relevant opportunities as they become available, creating tailored funding opportunity lists to share in an email or link to a webpage, among many others.

Identify Scholarships and Research Funding for Your Graduate Education!

The University of Illinois has an excellent Fellowship Finder featuring awards that are open to grad students from any university. It features several filters to aid your search.

The National Research Council postdoctoral program is used by federal agencies across the country to support postdoc searches. This is a great place to look when you are close to finishing your PhD and the salaries are quite good. Quarterly application deadlines.

For more funding opportunities, visit MSU's Research Funding Opportunities and the MSU Graduate School's Funding and Fellowships webpage.

Workshops and events graphic

Workshops & Events

MSU Graduate Leadership Academy (GLA)

The Graduate Leadership Academy is now accepting applications for the 2025-2026 academic year. Members of the GLA attend workshops examining the relationship between leadership and inclusivity from both practical and theoretical perspectives and hear from a broad range of leaders from across the academic and professional world. Upon completion of the fall workshop series, GLA participants receive a $250 scholarship award. A second $250 award is again granted to students upon completion of the spring semester program components. Please visit the GLA website for more information and to apply.

Graduate Wellness Champions

The Graduate School is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 academic year. To support the well-being of graduate students, department-level initiatives are key – both in running local well-being events, but also to help change culture and practices. A $500 fellowship ($250 per semester) is available for graduate student wellness champions who will advocate and organize well-being events in their departments. This fellowship is to support the student for organizational work during the academic year. For more information, please visit the GradCat Wellness Champion Program website.

Professional Development: GradCat 360

GradCat 360 is a comprehensive professional development program for graduate students at Montana State University. It is a series of programs and events designed by the Graduate School and departments across campus that center around nine focus areas. These areas are tailored to help students cultivate a unified set of skills and knowledge for educational success and professional preparation.

Check out our GradCat 360 Event Calendar, specifically curated for Graduate Students. We are constantly updating the GradCat 360 calendar with workshops and events that are uniquely useful for graduate students.

MSU Writing Center

The MSU Writing Center offers ongoing support to students working on graduate-level writing.