MSU IGERT students in Yellowstone National Park. (top)
(Photo Credit: Bill Inskeep)
John Aston,MSU IGERT student speaking at a conference in Spain. (bottom)
HOW to APPLY to MSU IGERT
Interested students must be admitted to the College of Graduate Studies at Montana State University and one of several potential participating academic departments. Current participating departments include: Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical and Biological Engineering , Civil Engineering , Earth Sciences , Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, and Microbiology. Application to the IGERT program is a separate process (see below), but is contingent on successful admission to the College of Graduate Studies. For application to the IGERT program, students will be asked to write a one-page description of their scientific interests and long-term goals and how these relate to the goals of the IGERT program (interested applicants must refer to the full description of application processes, see below). The IGERT traineeship awards are limited to U.S. citizens; however, international students may also consider applying to the program as IGERT Student Associates.
We will be holding a campus wide graduate recruitment weekend in March 2010. If you cannot attend the recruitment weekend we will still accept applications for the upcoming class.
Applicants will be notified of a formal decision from the College of Graduate Studies.
It is strongly recommended that you contact (either by letter or email) IGERT faculty at MSU directly and indicate your interest in the IGERT program.
Interested students must send (1) a curriculum vita, and (2) a one-page document (12 pt font, 1-inch margins) containing the following information: name, status at MSU (applied versus enrolled; if already enrolled, provide home department, current advisor), prior degrees and universities attended, and a detailed description of why the student would like to participate in this IGERT program. For example, this should include coverage of research and disciplinary interests, rationale for choosing to pursue a PhD program, short- and long-term academic goals, and a discussion of opportunities available within the IGERT program that are consistent with student career goals. If not already submitted to the College of Graduate Studies at MSU as part of admission requirements, the IGERT program will need full copies of academic transcripts, GRE scores, and three letters of reference. Send application materials (as pdf files) to Dr. Bill Inskeep, IGERT Director (binskeep@montana.edu). Receipt of application will be acknowledged, and decisions regarding fellowship applications made as soon as possible.
Students applying to the IGERT program may receive a traineeship award for approximately 1 to 2.5 years, after which research support must be provided by a faculty member or other source. The traineeship awards are $30,000 per year including a cost of education allowance of $10,500 per year to offset any tuition, fees, and or other related educational expenses.
The Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE) at Montana State University (MSU) currently has a highly active research program related to geologic carbon sequestration, bioremediation, biomineralization, and subsurface biofilm technology. We currently have two openings (stipend and tuition waiver) for graduate students in the areas of: 1) Reactive transport in porous media with emphasis on mineral-precipitating biofilms (funded by NSF, primary responsibilities: microscopic and image based quantitative and chemical analysis of calcium carbonate precipitating flow systems). 2) Development of biofilm-based technologies for the sequestration of carbon dioxide (funded by DOE, primary responsibilities: evaluation and quantification of biofilm processes in high pressure environments and in the presence of supercritical CO2). Please click on the link to the pdf file for full details.