Student Research Program at MSU-Billings

MSUB Undergraduate Research Program Summary

A significant number of Montana State University Billings students are non-traditional (the average age of the student body is 25), many of whom not only attend school but also work and raise their families—44% percent of MSUB students work 26 or more hours per week off-campus, and 27% provide care for dependents. This landscape leaves capable students little time in their schedules to pursue unpaid internship opportunities, regardless of their intellectual/academic aptitude. In MSUB’s most recent (2013) National Survey of Student Engagement, only 14% of seniors had worked with a faculty member on a research project, compared to the average 24% of students attending Rocky Mountain public universities and colleges. The low number of students participated in this High Impact Practice affects not only the quality of their college experience but also the preparedness of potential employees in our area’s biomedical and public health industries.

The Montana INBRE Studet Research Program at MSUB aims to select four qualified students anually who will independently identify research questions pertinent to the biomedical or public health fields.  The research experience should provide students a deeper understanding of scholarship and healthcare needs in Montana.  In doing so, the goal of the Montana INBRE Program to increase the biomedical research capacity of its citizens will be accomplished.