Program Modification Form
I Summary of Proposed Changes
Undergraduate Minor in Mountain Studies
Department/program
Restructuring of the requirements for the minor and the addition of several
Summary
mountain studies courses to the course listing.
II Endorsements and Approvals
Please obtain the Program Chair/Director’s approval and Dean’s approval.
Please type / print name Signature
Requestor:
Phone:
Program Chair/Director:
Jeffrey A. Gritzner
X5626
Sarah J. Halvorson
Department Dean
Other affected Programs:
(Use additional sheet if
Christopher Comer
College of Forestry and
Conservation
Date
needed)
Geosciences
Division of Biological
Sciences
III Type of Program Modification
(e.g. adding a writing course required of all majors.) Please X check the appropriate box.
Major
Minor X
Option
Teaching major/minor
Other
Please
This is a request to restructure the course
describe
requirements and to include several other relevant
courses offered at UM
IV Catalog Language
If you are proposing a change to an existing program or
major, please cut and paste the requirements as they
appear in the current catalog below.
www.umt.edu/catalog 
Please provide the proposed copy as you wish
it to appear in the catalog. 
Minor in Mountain Studies
Minor in Mountain Studies
Mountain studies is an interdisciplinary field of
study focusing on the physical and human
dimensions of mountain environments.
Coursework in the minor emphasizes physical
geography and mountain-society interactions,
including a critical analysis of the processes of
change and influence shaping local and regional
mountain environments today. The minor in
mountain studies takes advantage of existing
faculty expertise and an array of courses to
provide students with a science-based curriculum
and global perspective. Students pursuing the
minor in mountain studies will develop knowledge
and skills appropriate for graduate study and for
working with government and non-government
agencies and groups.
Requirements
In addition to completing the requirements for a
major in any discipline, students electing the
minor in mountain studies must complete a
minimum of 18 additional credits as follows:
1. Nine credits must be core courses:
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GEOG 138 Montana’s Mountains (3 cr.)
GEOG 222 Global Mountain
Environments (3 cr.)
GEOG 338 Mountains & Society (3 cr.)
2. Six credits must be selected from the following
list of upper-division advanced mountain studies
courses:
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BIOL 350 Rocky Mountain Flora (3 cr.)
BIOL 451 Landscape Ecology (3 cr.)
BIOL 459 Alpine Ecology (3 cr.)
FOR 495 Montana Wilderness Field
Studies in Winter (3 cr.)
GEOG 310 Crown of the Continent (3 cr.)
GEOG 401 Regionalism and the Rocky
Mountain West (3 cr.)
GEOG 410 High Asia (3 cr.)
GEOG 438 Mountains Field Study (3 cr.)
GEOS 425 Geology of the Pacific
Northwest (3 cr.)
GEOS 488 Snow, Ice and Climate (3 cr.)
Mountain studies is an interdisciplinary
field of study focusing on the physical and
human dimensions of mountain
environments. Coursework in the minor
emphasizes physical geography and
mountain-society interactions, including a
critical analysis of the processes of change
and influence shaping local and regional
mountain environments today. The minor
in mountain studies takes advantage of
existing faculty expertise and an array of
courses to provide students with a sciencebased curriculum and global perspective.
Students pursuing the minor in mountain
studies will develop knowledge and skills
appropriate for graduate study and for
working with government and nongovernment agencies and groups. Fieldbased and international experiences are
strongly encouraged.
Requirements
In addition to completing the requirements
for a major in any discipline, students
electing the minor in mountain studies
must complete a minimum of 18 additional
credits as follows:
1. Six credits must be core courses:


GPHY 214 (GEOG 222) Global
Mountain Environments (3 cr.)
GPHY 338 (GEOG 338) Mountains
& Society (3 cr.)
2. Six credits must be selected from the
following list of region-specific mountain
studies courses:

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BIOL 201N Montana Wildlife (3
cr.)
BIOL 350 Rocky Mountain Flora
(3 cr.)
BIOL 342 Field Ecology (3 cr.)
(summer field course at the Flathead
Lake Biological Station)
BIOL 459 Alpine Ecology (3 cr.)
(summer field course at the Flathead
Lake Biological Station)
3. Three credits must be chosen from the
following list of electives, or alternatively, from
the advanced mountain studies course listing
above.
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BIOL 201 Montana Wildlife (3 cr.)
FOR 330 Forest Ecology (3 cr.)
FOR 385 Watershed Hydrology (3 cr.)
GEOG 295 Mountain Cultures &
Economies (3 cr.)
GEOG 324 Geomorphology (3 cr.)
GEOG 426N Biogeography (3 cr.)
GEOS 103 Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and
Other Natural Hazards (3 cr.)
GEOS 230 Geosciences Field Methods (3
cr.)
GEOS 395 Special Topics (3 cr.)
GEOS 430 Global Tectonics (3 cr.)
RECM 482 Wilderness and Protected Area
Management (3 cr.)
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FOR 195 Nature in Montana (3 cr.)
FOR/RECM 495 Himalayan
Environment and Development (3
cr.)
FOR/RECM 495 Tourism,
Livelihoods and Sustainability in the
Himalaya (3 cr.)
FOR 495 Montana Wilderness
Field Studies in Winter (3 cr.)
GEO 231 (GEOS 230) Field
Methods and Maps (3 cr.)
GEO 425 (GEOS 425) Geology of
the Pacific Northwest (3 cr.)
GPHY 144 (GEOG 138) Montana’s
Mountains (3 cr.)
GPHY 344 (GEOG 310) Crown of
the Continent (3 cr.)
GPHY 391/EVST 392
Biogeography of Northwest Montana
(3 cr.)
GPHY 442 (GEOG 401)
Regionalism and the Rocky
Mountain West (3 cr.)
GPHY 438 (GEOG 438) Mountains
Field Study (3 cr.)
GPHY 444 (GEOG 410) High Asia
(3 cr.)
2. Six credits must be selected from the
following list of upper-division advanced
mountain studies courses:

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BIOL 451 Landscape Ecology of
Mountain Ecosystems (3 cr.)
FOR 330 Forest Ecology (3 cr.)
FOR 385 Watershed Hydrology (3
cr.)
GEO 391 (GEOS 395) Appropriate
Topics (3 cr.)
GEO 433 (GEOS 430) Global
Tectonics (3 cr.)
GEO 488 (GEOS 488) Snow, Ice
and Climate (3 cr.)
GPHY 317 (GEOG 324)
Geomorphology (3 cr.)
GPHY 411 (GEOG 426N)
Biogeography (3 cr.)
GPHY 538 (GEOG 538) Mountain
Studies Seminar (3 cr.) – a 3.0 GPA
is required
RECM 482 Wilderness and
Protected Area Management (3 cr.)
Please explain/justify the new proposal or change. 
In the first year of this Minor (officially approved by the BOR September 2008), there has been
enthusiastic support from UM students, with nearly two dozen students currently enrolled in the
program. The course “Montana’s Mountains” (GPHY 144) has posed a bottleneck for students
because this field-based course (Polebridge, MT) can only accommodate 15-18 students at one
time, and this course is only offered during wintersession. Given the constraints, we propose to
delete this course from the set of core courses and include it with a set of mountain studies
courses that focus on specific geographic regions. Another change is that we propose to
restructure the curriculum with a new category of “region-specific mountain studies courses” in
order to emphasize and deepen coursework and in-depth learning about particular mountain
environments and mountain-society contexts. Here, we are also adding five courses to the
“region-specific mountain studies” listing that are taught at UM. Next we are proposing to add
the graduate level Mountain Studies Seminar (GPHY 538) to the listing of upper division
mountain studies courses in order to make this course available to undergraduates with a GPA of
3.0 and above. And finally, given the international dimensions of the curriculum and faculty
expertise, we see the need to include the statement “Field-based and international experiences
are strongly encouraged” in the introductory statement to the minor. The Faculty Advisory
Committee for the Minor approved the restructuring of the curriculum proposed herein and the
inclusion of these additional courses that emphasize scientific concepts and theory as they apply
to the study of mountainous regions and the socio-economic development trajectories of
mountainous areas.
What other programs are affected by your proposal?
College of Forestry and Conservation,
Obtain signatures as requested above.
Geosciences, DBS
V Copies and Electronic Submission
Once approved, the original, a paper copy and an electronic file are submitted to the Faculty Senate
Office, UH 221 (camie.foos@mso.umt.edu).
VI Department Summary Required if several proposals are submitted. In a separate document
list program title and proposed change of all proposals.