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Wildlife Biology

We are grateful to our donors and alumni for helping us become a top-ranked wildlife biology program in North America. Their support helps us provide students a holistic, hands-on education that allows them to effectively address the challenges lying ahead in wildlife conservation. It also enables us to conduct cutting-edge research that our nation and world depend upon to conserve wildlife species and their habitats for generations to come.
Director Chad bishop

CAMPAIGN IMPACTS

Student Recruitment Scholarships

Every year we compete to recruit the best students. Our world-class faculty and location in Montana are significant advantages, but in order to recruit successfully, we must offer competitive scholarships. During Campaign Montana, philanthropic support allowed us to recruit top students with financial need from all over the U.S. while also helping our recruitment efforts to diversify our student body. For example, the Susan and Roy O’Connor Student Recruitment Scholarships provide four-year awards that give financial certainty to families that would otherwise struggle to send their students to UM. Scholarships were especially impactful in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted families and created considerable uncertainty.  

GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP FUND FOR THE JOHN J. CRAIGHEAD CHAIR 

Philanthropic giving through Campaign Montana has made a lasting impact by supporting work that changes the future. For example, the Agnes Kirkpatrick Godchaux Graduate Fellowship Fund for the John J. Craighead Chair helps to conserve biodiversity for generations to come. This transformational gift will greatly benefit global conservation efforts by allowing the John J. Craighead Chair to support graduate students and conduct innovative research on diverse wildlife species. Through his research and engagement with governmental leaders, Craighead Chair Dr. Jedediah Brodie is helping conserve one of the last remnants of intact and ancient rainforests in southeast Asia.

PHilip L. Wright Zoological Museum Renovation

The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum is the largest zoological collection in Montana, home to over 22,500 specimens of primarily birds and mammals from the northern Rocky Mountains and around the world. The museum provides important resources for undergraduate teaching, K-12 education and outreach, and research at UM and worldwide. Support from alumni and friends during Campaign Montana funded major renovations to the Museum, including the construction of a Research Collections Room. This renovation doubles storage capacity, allows easier access to the collections, and improves security and climate control to preserve the specimens, ensuring many more decades of collection and growth.

TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE MORE LIVES

We’ve achieved so much during Campaign Montana.
We will continue the momentum with these fundraising priorities.

Wildlife Impact Fund
The Wildlife Impact Fund provides unrestricted support so our leadership can nimbly direct resources to support students and help faculty remain at the forefront of wildlife research and conservation. When you give to the Impact Fund, you provide scholarships and professional development opportunities for students such as attending international conferences, help faculty pursue their groundbreaking research goals and so much more.
Undergraduate Scholarships
Undergraduate scholarships are integral to recruiting and retaining the best students in North America and beyond, especially as our student enrollment continues to grow. We attract students from every state in the nation, yet out-of-state tuition frequently prevents students from being able to attend UM. Scholarships are the game-changer that allow them to come and fulfill their dreams.   
Graduate Fellowships
The strength of our program depends on funds that support our graduate students’ education and research. Working with professors, our graduate students conduct and publish research that provides the foundational knowledge society uses to inform increasingly complex wildlife conservation decisions. Donor gifts help us support our advanced students as we prepare them for leadership roles in government agencies, academia and the nonprofit and private sectors.


Make no small plans. Donate

Academic Analytics has ranked the UM Wildlife Biology program among the top in the U.S. and Canada for the quality and productivity of faculty research.
Founded in 1936, UM’s Wildlife Biology program is the second oldest program of its kind in the country.
In the last two years, Wildlife Biology students received half of UM’s Presidential Leadership Scholarships awarded to out-of-state students.
The Wildlife Biology program is an international, interdisciplinary research program that attracts faculty and students from around the nation and the world.
The UM Wildlife Biology program emphasizes experiential learning as students have unrivaled access to hands-on outdoor learning opportunities through classes and labs.

The University of Montana has become a premier destination for students across the continent who are passionately committed to pursuing careers in wildlife biology and conservation. We integrate teaching and research so students gain impactful experiences outside the classroom that allow them to succeed as alumni. Our alumni have been integral in our nation’s efforts to conserve species and landscapes; they do this as scientists, biologists, managers and policymakers. Our faculty and students in wildlife biology are committed to excellence, yet it takes resources to succeed. We are grateful to our donors for providing these resources. Looking to the future, the continued support of our friends and alumni will be critical as we strive to sustain our ranking among the country’s top wildlife biology programs, and in turn, help our society conserve species and habitats in ever-changing landscapes.

Nick Jutila

[email protected]

406-243-5424