Through a collaborative effort of the Ivan Doig Center for the Study of the Lands & Peoples of the North American West, the Archives and Special Collections (ASC) department of the MSU Library, and the Friends of MSU Library , Montana State University offers a $3,000 annual award to facilitate research into collections held by ASC.  

The award is intended to defray the costs of either travel to Bozeman to conduct research; to facilitate digitization of portions of a collection to allow a researcher to work remotely; or a mix of the two. Recipients may be academics (including graduate students) or independent scholars who are residents of the United States. We are unable to pay for any costs above the award amount. 

Recipients should have a proven track record of accomplishment (or promise, in the case of graduate students) in their scholarly or creative work.  Applicants may use any of the unrestricted holdings of the MSU Archives and Special Collections, including manuscripts, MSU archives, the Trout and Salmonid collection, or Special Collections books. 

The awardee will share the preliminary results of their work in a public online presentation for MSU students, faculty, staff, and the Friends of the Library during the academic year following the award and will complete a creative or scholarly work within one calendar year from the date of the award. A copy of the work should be submitted to the head of Archives and Special Collections on completion.

Applications should consist of: 

• A cover letter;  
• A statement of purpose of no more than 1500 words describing the project, the collections the researcher plans to consult, and the anticipated final product;  
• A budget for travel, digitization, or a combination of the two;  
• A 2-3 page curriculum vitae. 

Send applications to the Head of Archives and Special Collections, Jodi Allison-Bunnellby April 14, 2025.  

Applications will be evaluated by a joint committee composed of the director of the Doig Center, a member of the ASC faculty, the Head of ASC, and a member of the Friends board.  

Criteria for evaluation: 

• Evidence of an appropriate range and depth of ASC collections to be used;   
• Significance and originality (or a fresh treatment) of the proposed topic; 

• Quality of writing and organization; 
• Applicant’s past record of successfully publishing or otherwise disseminating academic or creative works, or in the case of graduate students, demonstrated promise of success; 
• A well-supported budget for travel, digitization, or both. 

The award will be announced by May 1, 2025. Recipients will receive $1,500 at the start of the research and $1,500 after their public presentation is completed. We highly recommend travel in early to mid summer, when awardees can access campus housing. Lodging in Bozeman is extremely expensive.   

The Merrill G. Burlingame Archives and Special Collections at MSU features manuscript collections on the West and the Greater Yellowstone, with particular strengthsin agricultural history; the world’s most comprehensive collection of trout and salmonid books; select records of MSU history; area-focused books; and a substantial collection of angling oral histories.