2022 REU Student working in the lab.

Eligibility:

• In accordance with NSF guidelines, all applicants must be United States citizens or a permanent resident of the United States.

• Applicants should have a strong interest in pursuing a research career in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline.

• Must have successfully completed at least one academic year of an undergraduate program and be classified as an undergraduate student prior to and during program participation. 2022 REU Student working in the lab.

• Participants must be available full-time for the duration of the program from start to finish. Any vacations, summer coursework, or other summer employment needs to take place outside the program time frame.

• Students majoring in microbiology, engineering, environmental sciences, ecology, biochemistry, biology, computer science, mathematics, or a related STEM discipline. No minimum GPA requirement.

• All students will live on the MSU campus, grouped together as a research cohort, in housing provided by the EB-REU program.

We especially welcome applications from:

  • Students from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or from non-research-intensive universities, tribal colleges, and community colleges.
  • Students who are first-generation college attenders, non-traditional, veterans, and disabled students.
  • Students from groups who are historically underrepresented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) including students who are Indigenous, Hispanic, Latino, Black, Pacific Islander, and/or LGBTQIA+ are strongly encouraged to apply.        
       REU students enjoying a weekly Wedneday 'hump day hike' up North Cottonwood trail.         REU students smiling after their research symposium presentations. Congrats!

 

Instructions to Apply:

Our application deadline is March 28th, 2025.

Applications must be submitted through https://www.etap.nsf.gov/.  You will need to create an account and then log in to the site.  There will be a series of questions that are required for all NSF-REU applications.  We do not have any control over their content. Note that ETAP may also ask you to provide a personal statement as part of your user profile. This generic personal statement may be useful for some REU programs; however, note that our Extreme Biofilms REU asks you to respond to several question prompts (see below) within your personal statement. Therefore, you will need to customize your personal statement for your submission to the Extreme Biofilms REU program.

To apply to our program, you will want to select the "Extreme Biofilms Research Experience for Undergraduates at Montana State University."  The screenshot below is from the ETAP website.

 

Screen shot of finding the Montana State Extreme Biofilms REU program on the ETAP website

 

 

Once you complete the ETAP application forms, you will be asked to provide the following required documents:

  • Resume (maximum of 2 pages) 2022 REU Student using a CBE microscope.
  • Unofficial Transcript(s)
  • One letter of recommendation from an academic reference (from someone who knows your STEM background and can discuss how the REU program will help you reach your goals).
  • A two-page personal statement, which incorporates answers to the following questions:

    1. Why are you interested in the Extreme Biofilms research program? As part of your response, please also include a short-term (for the summer research experience) and long-term (broader educational and career) goal you have. 

2. What unique qualities and characteristics will you bring to the summer research experience, and how are they shaped by your educational and life experiences? 

3. Our lives have all been enhancedby exposure to diverse people, places, or experiences. How will you contribute to creatinga campus environment that is welcoming and inclusive? How do you communicate with people who are different from you? 

NOTE: The NSF ETAP system may ask you to upload your personal statement at multiple points in the application process. Please know that you only need to develop one personal statement, and this singular document can be uploaded each time the document is requested in the application process. Do make sure that you statement incoporates responses to the question prompts above.

  • Provide the names of your top three faculty mentor choices.

If you have any questions at all about our application process, please email the REU Program Coordinator, Dana Skorupa, at dana.skorupa@montana.edu. I am here to help and am happy to answer any questions that may come up!

Martina Du, an undergraduate, presenting her poster to Al Parker. REU students enjoying an end-of-program tubing day on the Madison river.