The Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) Scholarship Program
The SIGP Program at Montana State
Sloan Scholars & Alumni in the News
The Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) is a scholarship program funded by the A.P. Sloan Foundation since the fall of 2003
to support Indigenous (Native American, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian – U.S. Citizenship)
graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics
(STEM) with the intent of increasing the number of Indigenous Americans earning master’s
and doctoral degrees in STEM disciplines.
To be eligible, students must be accepted into a STEM graduate program at one of the 9 SIGP partner institutions University of Alaska-Anchorage, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the University of Arizona (Tucson), the University of Montana (Missoula), Montana Tech of The University of Montana (Butte), Montana State University (Bozeman), and Purdue University (Indiana).
Scholar and Alumni Videos
Advice for American Indian and Alaska Native Graduate Students: video
Challenges for American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Graduate School: video
Interview with now Alumna, Dionne Zoanni, MS, Earth Sciences, 2017: video
SIGP Financial Support
The SIGP program provides funding to selected graduate students on a competitive basis. Each SIGP program partner has a responsibility to provide financial support to their Scholars; the amount allocated for tuition and teaching/research assistantships varies by institution. The Sloan awards are a supplement to the funding a Scholar receives from the institution/graduate program. The M.S. awards are $20,000 total and the Ph.D. awards are $40,000 total. A student can apply for an M.S. award and then apply separately for a Ph.D. award upon completion of the M.S. degree.
The Montana University System (MUS) SIGP Program
The national SIGP program was expanded in the fall of 2005 to include the participation of select graduate programs at The University of Montana (Missoula, MT) and Montana Tech of The University of Montana (Butte, MT). In 2012, Montana State University (Bozeman, MT) was invited to join the Montana University System (MUS) SIGP program.The
SIGP Program at Montana State
At Montana State University, the SIGP program has attracted an extraordinary group of Indigenous American graduate students who are pursuing degrees in the natural sciences. Among our students, research has ranged from wild rice, black bears, white bark pine trees, fish, neurology, water, buffalo, toxic dumping, to many other areas close to the heart of Indigenous peoples.
If you are an Indigenous American who is interested in a graduate degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM), we are very interested in talking with you. We believe you will see that the SIGP program can offer you a unique opportunity to earn your graduate degree. Not only will you be given the opportunity for financial support, you will also have access to top faculty here on campus and the chance to connect with other Indigenous Americans pursuing graduate degrees.
Meet the MSU Scholars
Lila Bull Chief
MS Student, Microbiology & Immunology
Stephanann Costello
PhD Candidate, Chemistry & Biochemistry
Kendall Edmo
MS Student, Earth Sciences
Kendall's researchcombines archeological, ethnohistorical, paleoecological and geospatial science approachesto examine a high-elevation bison drive-line on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, contributing to the efforts of the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office in cultural landscape preservation.
Jessica Eggers
Jessica's research focuses on investigating the impacts of projected warmer growing seasons on Montana's native forbs and their associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Zachariah Fighter
Zach's research focuses on the association of fire and herbicide control strategies on the invasive annual grass Ventenata dubia, as well as incorporating geospatial data and tools such as remote sensing and GIS to help detect and monitor species of concern.
Trisheena Kills Pretty Enemy
Trisheena's research
Joshua Matt
Josh's research focuses on Helminth Worms and their roles in mediating Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
Kyle Matt
Kyle's research focuses on the dynamics of stars and galaxies.
Randall Not Afraid
Randall's research focuses on
Mariah Romero
Latrice Tatsey
Latrice’s research focuses on organic matter and carbon in soil, and specifically, the benefits to soil from the reintroduction of bison (iin-ni) to their traditional grazing landscapes on the Blackfeet Reservation.
Rhys Trousdale
Rhys' research focuses on organic partitioning and bio-accumulation using multiple components of optical spectroscopy.
James Vallie
James' research focuses on Native food preservation techniques in evaluating the sustainability, safety, and sensory aspects of such a unique process.
Matthew Weingart
Matt's research focuses on the paleoecological reconstruction of the fire and vegetation history of the last ten thousand years in the Rainbow Lake area in Montana.
MSU Sloan Scholars & Alumni in the News
- Jason Baldes (Land Resources & Environmental Sciences, M.S., 2016) is featured in the MSU publication, Mountains and Minds, in a story about his ongoing work to restore buffalo to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
- Audrey Harvey (Land Resources & Environmental Sciences, M.S. 2019) is mentioned in the MSU publication, Mountains and Minds, in a story focused on MSU’s efforts to create a home away from home for Native students. See a recent article about Audrey's life-long focus on land conservation in NAU News where Audrey is pursuing a PhD.
- Anita Moore-Nall (Earth Sciences, Ph.D., 2017) is featured in the MSU College of Letters and Sciences publication, Confluence.
MSU SIGP Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be U.S. citizens and should provide evidence of enrollment in a federally or state recognized tribe. In the absence of such verification, the applicant must provide a written statement explaining her or his connection to a tribe or indigenous community. Applications from U.S. citizens who belong to tribes in Mexico or Canada will be considered.
A scholarship applicant must be accepted into a qualifying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) program at MSU (see the list of eligible Master’s and Doctoral degrees below). A primary research advisor must be identified, and each MSU SIGP applicant must have a teaching assistantship (TA) or research assistantship (RA).
*The Molecular Biosciences program does not offer its own degree; rather it is an interdisciplinary program where students enter and try research in many fields and then decide in which field to get their PhD.
Applying to SIGP
Contact Information
Please contact Dr. Barbara Komlos, bkomlos@montana.edu, (406) 994-4206 for more information.
Visit the Sloan Foundation SIGP webpage or find us on Facebook.