UM - GEMAP Proposal – final - 09/29/2014
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA GRADUATE EDUCATION MERIT AWARD PROGRAM (UM-GEMAP)
Authorization
Montana Board of Regents (BoR) of Higher Education Policy # 940.31 (adopted: March 20, 2003 /
revised: November 19, 2010) provides campuses “the flexibility to differentiate tuition by program,
sector and method of delivery to reflect the cost of providing education”. This policy provides a means
to develop an institution-wide tuition reduction program for out-of-state graduate students who have
won prestigious scholarships from national and international programs of distinction (e.g., Fulbright).
Without such a tuition reduction program, the University will not be able to provide competitive offers
to these prospective graduate students. It is with this in mind that the ‘University of Montana Graduate
Education Merit Award Program’ (UM-GEMAP) has been developed.
Section III.A. of the aforementioned BoR policy further states that “Campuses have the flexibility to set
non-resident tuition … for graduate research and teaching assistants at 100% of resident tuition”.
This policy allows the University to develop two tracks as part of UM-GEMAP, those are;
1.
2.
100% (of resident tuition), “Teaching Assistant / Research Assistant Award”
100% (of resident tuition), “Dean’s Merit Award”
1. The Teaching Assistant / Research Assistant (TARA) Award; UM-GEMAP, TARA
Procedures to manage the TARA track of UM-GEMAP have already been established and employed.
That information can be found on the TARA page of UM’s Graduate School:
http://www.umt.edu/grad/Faculty%20and%20Staff/Graduate%20Administration/TARA.php
2. Dean’s Merit Award (DMA); UM-GEMAP, DMA
 Fall 2015 implementation
 March 1st Graduate Application Deadline to be considered for a UM-GEMAP, DMA award
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Eligibility requirements:
The Graduate Council will establish a process for domestic or international programs of
distinction to be designated as a UM-GEMAP, DMA ‘Program of Excellence’ and approved by the
Provost. Once on that list, all students from a designated program will be eligible to receive this
award. Fulbright is an example of the type of program expected to receive this designation.
o
Program management:
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The Graduate School will manage an annual allocation of these awards.
 Award renewal:
The student will keep the award for the duration of the program as long as they:
1. Maintain good academic standing, average GPA of 3.5.
2. Be registered full time (9 credits).
3. Make appropriate progress toward completion as assessed by the student’s graduate
committee and reported to the Graduate School.
UM - GEMAP Proposal – final - 09/29/2014
LIST OF PREAPPROVED ELIGIBILITY FOR UM’S GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
Initial List of Programs Eligible for the Dean’s Merit Award (approved by Graduate 2/4/15)
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Fulbright
Ford Foundation
European Union’s Marie Curie Fellowships
NIH Grants & Fellowships
NSF Grants & Fellowships
German Marshall Fund of the U.S. Fellowships
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grants
DAAD – German Academic Exchange Service
USAID Pre-Approved graduate programs
Department of State Grants & Fellowships
Department of Education Grants & Fellowships
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Arts
Institute of International Education (IIE)
NASA