Davidson Honors College
Our mission to our students is clear: we will foster their academic achievement, we will help them succeed as they pursue their professional ambitions and we will make sure that the talented and motivated scholars who join the Davidson Honors College will graduate ready to serve as leading citizens in their community, their state, their country and the world.Dean Nichols
Make no small plans. Donate
Teaching, Research and mentoring Fellows
With donor support, we have established an innovative approach to recruiting diverse faculty for the Davidson Honors College. The Teaching, Research and Mentoring Fellowship Program brings talented postdoctoral fellows to UM to exclusively teach honors courses. These scholars have innovative teaching and research accomplishments, and their arrival connects our students to lively classroom instruction, research mentoring and academic advising. With your support, we aim to create additional fellowships and endow these positions.
Professional and career development program
Today’s students and parents expect to maximize the return on their educational investment. In response, in 2017 we established a career development program exclusively for honors students. We integrate programming throughout students’ four years of college, helping them navigate their growth as nascent young professionals or graduate students. While personalized career coaching is not unique to honors education, holistic career development programs are exceptionally rare. The program – and the added level of advising and training it provides – will distinguish us from regional competitors and give honors students extra preparation for their post-collegiate careers.
student scholarships
We intend to grow the number of scholarships available to all honors students, but our primary goal is to increase the amount we award for Presidential Leadership Scholarships. Increasing the value of each scholarship helps UM compete nationally for top students. Alumni and friends generously support over 100 Presidential Leadership Scholars every year; we aim to add another 25 during Campaign Montana.
experiential learning
The hallmark of an honors education is the opportunity to engage at a deeper level with the academic experience. In addition to encouraging students to explore the world through study abroad programs, we believe that exploring career paths through internships and research assignments is integral to a student’s personal and professional growth. To enable more students to take advantage of such opportunities, donors can support funds for travel and internship stipends, as well as research awards. In many cases, students simply cannot afford to take advantage of these experiences without your financial support.
Impact Fund
Impact Funds across campus helps ensure UM’s excellence by providing unrestricted support where and when it is needed most. With your gift, we can provide essential opportunities and resources students and faculty need to thrive. At the Davidson Honors College, that includes innovative programs like student research, emergency retention support, and the UM Conference on Undergraduate Research, alongside more humble requirements.
As the college looks toward the future, we have developed a strategy to achieve the highest level of national distinction and establish the Davidson Honors College as the preferred choice for our region’s most talented students. Philanthropic investment will enable us to strengthen increasingly significant aspects of honors education – including enhanced faculty mentorship, new course development, customized career preparation, undergraduate research, study abroad and service learning opportunities.