This collection includes 532 University of Montana graduate student portfolios, papers, and capstone projects, which some departments utilize as an alternative to the traditional thesis option. Use the following links to search discipline-specific portfolios:
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PROTECTING WESTERN WATERSHEDS: REGULATORY SCHEMES AND RESTORATION LIABILITY PROBLEMS
Gardner W. Dee
This M.S. Environmental Studies portfolio combines two academic and technical reports and one work product from a summer internship. The first piece discusses in detail the selenium pollution crisis in the Elk River watershed and the updated canadian coal mining effluent regulations proposed for the ... Read More
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Supporting Effective and Just Responses to Climate Change Through Policy Analysis, Cumulative Impact Assessments, and a Conservation Initiative Assessment
Rashail DeMinck
The first element of my portfolio discusses vulnerable populations in China who are facing climate change and highlights the need to change top-down systems, so impacted populations will be treated fairly when severe circumstances affect their lifeways. It is critically important to identify cases and ... Read More
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Environmental Education In Informal Learning Spaces: Integration, Design, and Access
Maya S. Gutierrez
In this portfolio, I will focus on using learning spaces to facilitate environmental education and promote environmental literacy. I will discuss the incorporation of the framework of environmental education into an experiential and informal learning environment; the creation of a curriculum that fuses formal and ... Read More
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Strategies for Combatting the Climate Crisis: Policy, Organizing, and Community Resilience
Shannon F. James
This portfolio synthesizes work I have done throughout graduate school through research and experience. I have had the opportunity to focus the majority of my work on the climate crisis and be involved in work to address this wicked problem. Though detrimental impacts are already ... Read More
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Co-op to Cafeteria: Building a Food Value Chain for Farm to School
Blake D. Lineweaver
The central theme of this M.S. Environmental Studies portfolio considers farm-to-school as a medium for food system transformation within an innovative regional partnership of producer-owned food hubs and a state education agency. The portfolio consists of three main elements.
The first element is a literature ... Read More
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LIVING AMONG WILDLIFE: ELEVATING HUMAN-WILDLIFE INTERACTIONS AND COEXISTENCE
Bridget Rebecca Murphy
After a semester of learning, both in class and in nature, my writing honed in further on this human-nature divide. To me, I see humans as part of nature – as we are mammals, animals, part of the food chain, biological beings no higher than ... Read More
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Climate Adaptation Across Contexts: Barriers and Creative Solutions in Wildfire Planning, Landscape Conservation, and Species Restoration
Lucia Jones Portman
This portfolio consists of three different explorations of the barriers in climate work and creative solutions to adaptation and mitigation. The first component is an academic piece that is regionally and species specific and seeks to investigate the potential for tribally managed bison herds in ... Read More
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Creating Connections to Landscapes and Cultures through the Plants of Montana and the Interior Northwest
Susan Elise Teitelman
This portfolio ties together concepts from the disciplines of ethnobotany, botany, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). It draws on themes of native plant preservation and restoration as well as ethics of plant collection and public education regarding the native flora of Montana and the broader ... Read More
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Submittable Off-the-Shelf Plan Analysis
Mary Anderson
Submittable is a SaaS platform offering a streamlined way to collect and review content of any kind. Submittable’s subscription pricing models have evolved to custom quote pricing as the company has grown. The analysis reviewed the revenue and expenses associated with 33 legacy subscription plans ... Read More
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Surviving Education: The Untold Story of American Indian Boarding Schools
Sandra Su'sana (Redpath) Ashley
The history of federally-mandated American Indian boarding schools is one that is long overdue in the chronicles of American history. In North America, the original settlers did most of the speaking and precious little listening. In doing so, the traditional education of Native peoples was ... Read More
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ADAPTING SUSTENANCE: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE PRESERVE TRADITIONAL FOOD SOURCES
Mary Katherine Auld
Traditional foodways of Indigenous people around the world are being changed by human-caused climate change, environmental policy, and land management. For Indigenous people in interior Alaska and Montana, culture and survival are tied tightly to hunted and gathered food. The average American gets their food ... Read More
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Search Engine Optimization Reporting Tool
Alexis Campestre
The SEO Reporting Tool (SRT) is a dynamic dashboard created for the PinPoint Local (PPL) franchise. As the owner of Digital Marketing Missoula, a PPL franchisee and purveyor of online marketing services, I embarked on this project with the intent of enhancing the value proposition ... Read More
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Batting Order Analysis in Major League Baseball
AJ Eckmann
The purpose of my project was to look into a less explored area of baseball analytics, by analyzing MLB batting lineups through simulations. This project specifically looked at the impact of moving the pitcher from the traditional 9th spot in the batting order, into the ... Read More
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Northstar Athletics Item Sales Analysis
Nikki Gabrielsen
Northstar Athletics, a family-owned athletic shoe and apparel store in Havre, MT, struggles to access and utilize all its available data. This project combines two of the company’s documents to conduct and analysis of item sales by category, vendor, and quarter. The purpose of this ... Read More
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Visualizing Agricultural Data to Drive Policy
Jon Gilbert
This project unlocks the power of ten years of USDA agricultural data by creating an intuitive, interactive visualization. The resulting dashboard mitigates current limitations in the USDA’s data portal and provides an interface that policy makers can customize when making appropriations decisions regarding programs designed ... Read More
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A Midwest Migration with Endangered Whooping Cranes
Katherine Anne Hill
In 1941, the world’s last migratory flock of whooping cranes was just 15 birds strong. Today, that flock has grown to over 500 birds and is increasing exponentially every year. But even as the flock continues to recover, their migratory corridor continues to shrink, due ... Read More
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Graduation Rates: What Affects Them?
Brenna Hoffman
Graduation rates for undergraduate degrees are low (only 60% after 6 years). To better understand what affects them, an analysis was performed on various institutional characteristics and their relationship with 2019 graduation rates.
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Updating Embedded Analytics Through Amazon QuickSight
Chris McLoy
The current GatherBoard user portal relies on one data visualization which provides little insight. In order to assist its clients and provide greater detail into the events within each community, a data visualization update through Amazon QuickSight was preformed. Included within the update are the ... Read More
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Credit-bearing Internships at the University of Montana
CJ McWilliams
The purpose of this project is to provide ELCS and the university a better understanding of the population that is currently participating in credit-bearing internships and allow them to compare future semesters and years to previous ones. Then, additional analysis of employer satisfaction surveys provide ... Read More
