Research at MSU

Research and Economic Development is responsible for administering MSU's thriving research enterprise. It oversees the following areas:

Sponsored Programs
  
Research Security 
   
Research Integrity & Compliance
   
Research Development
Graduate School
  
Innovation Campus 
  
Internal Funding Opportunities
 
Economic Development

 

Learn more about becoming a principal investigator at MSU

 

Research Alliance

The Research Alliance is a consortium of units across campus that includes the Office of Research Development, the Center for Faculty Excellence, Undergraduate Research Office, the MSU Library, and Research Cyberinfrastructureworking together to support and increase the excellence of the university's research enterprise. 

 

Undergraduate Opportunities in Research

Undergraduate Research enhances learning by providing hands-on opportunities to apply skills and knowledge learned in the classroom, and engages students in creative thinking and problem solving. Through this "learning-by-doing" model, undergraduate research provides excellent experience for students, whether they are preparing for graduate school or seeking employment in a professional field.

 

External Grants

Funding Opportunities Announcement

The Office of Research Development (ORD) curates a weekly notification of new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) from major federal and private sponsors. Sign up to get an email every Tuesday on this webpage or email ord@montana.edu.

Montana State University also provides Grant Forward, a powerful search system, to help you locate funding opportunities that match your needs.

Grant Opportunities for New Faculty

Internal Funding

The Office of the Provost, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, as well as your Department and Dean often offer internal grants to support your success.

Faculty Award Nominations

Managed by the Office of the Provost, nominations for faculty awards are typically due in October.

Competitive Faculty Opportunities

Research and Economic Development Grants

The office of the Vice President of Research & Economic Development strategically re-invests F&A dollars through six internal grant programs.

Faculty Excellence Grants (FEGs)

Enabling faculty to engage in activities that will enhance scholarship. Faculty in all disciplines are eligible to submit proposals. 

Instructional Innovation Grants (IIGs)

Funding to create and develop new methods to improve their teaching and student learning with the goal of increasing student success.

Startup Funds

Faculty startup packages vary on what they include and where they come from. Check with your Department accountant to discuss what your package entails and how you can use it to support your success.

Grant-Writing Support

The Office of Research Development offers one-on-one assistance with your grants. Email ord@montana.edu to get started.

They also offer workshops on many different aspects of grant writing. Many Centers on campus also have grant-writing support. 

5-week Grant Writing Series

SAGES: Strategic Applications & Grants Excellence Series is designed to help grant-interested faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff produce competitive proposals for external funding, honorifics, and fellowships. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with grant-successful colleagues, work with peer support in writing groups, spend dedicated time planning and writing their proposal, and gain tailored support from a team of research development professionals who keep the submitter's individual needs in mind.

Learn more about SAGES

Intro to Finding Funding and Writing Research Grants

New to writing grants? Each session we offer a session that introduces you to the grant writing process, and the MSU policies and procedures. We will also cover how to find funding opportunities that fit your research program, beyond searching on funding websites. See the ORD events

Publication Support

Library's Publication Services

The library can help decipher publishing agreements, assess copyright for publications or in the classroom, assist instructors in reducing the cost of textbooks byidentifing open educational resources, offer advice about professional networking and personal identifiers [e.g. ORCiD], and help authors increase the impact of an article or publication by increasing access to scholarship and data.

The Writing Center

The Writing Center's mission is to create a dynamic, collaborative environment that fosters and maintains a vibrant community of writers across the MSU campuses. Writing Center tutors meet individually or in groups with student writers of all abilities and backgrounds at any stage in their writing processes – from invention to revision. Writing Center staff are available to talk with faculty about building partnerships to support their teaching of writing.

CFE's Publication Consultations

The Center for Faculty Excellence offers workshops and one-on-one consultations for publishing scholarly work.

Outreach and Engagement

We are dedicated to sharing MSU's vast resources with the citizens of our communities at the local, state, regional, national and international level. Academic Technology & Outreach partners with the university's educators and researchers to create unique educational opportunities for youth and adults, both on- and off-campus.