The Western Transportation Institute (WTI) is a university-based research center at Montana State University with a mission to advance rural transportation through research and education. WTI is one of 10 National University Transportation Centers (UTC) recognized as centers of excellence in the transportation field by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Research & Innovative Technology Administration. The UTC program supports high quality research and education in transportation at select institutions of higher learning. In order to strengthen the pool of talented professionals working to meet the challenges of safe, efficient, and environmentally sound movement of people and goods, WTI offers students from various academic disciplines a number of unique research, education, and funding opportunities.

Research Opportunities

WTI's research focuses on rural transportation issues with special attention paid to the areas of safety and operations, winter maintenance and effects, road ecology, infrastructure maintenance and materials, systems engineering development and integration, mobility and public transportation, logistics and freight management, and transportation planning and economics.

One of WTI's primary goals is to enhance undergraduate and graduate education by providing students with real-world research experience in transportation. At any one time, WTI employs an average of 35 undergraduate and graduate students as paid research assistants on various projects. Students gain valuable experience related to their study while receiving a competitive wage.

Funding Opportunities

In addition to paid research work, WTI offers Transportation Graduate Awards to promising students on a competitive basis. Award recipients must enroll in a transportation curriculum, complete a thesis or professional paper on a transportation issue, and work as research assistants at WTI. The award covers the student's tuition costs and provides a competitive monthly stipend.

Undergraduate students at MSU with a keen interest in transportation are invited to apply for WTI's Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) program. Successful applicants receive paid hands-on research work experience as they work together with a professional researcher at WTI on a year-long research project. Participants in the URE program also receive paid travel opportunities for successful paper submissions to professional conferences and are eligible to receive academic credit for their research work.

For more information on student awards, click on the Funding link above.

UTC Outstanding Student of the Year Award

Each year, a WTI student is selected to receive the prestigious UTC Outstanding Student of the Year Award and a $1,000 scholarship. The U.S. Department of Transportation Research & Innovative Technology Administration presents the award to the selected student at the Transportation Research Board annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Students of the Year are selected based on their accomplishments in the areas of research, academics, professionalism, and leadership.

Professional Development Opportunities

WTI provides students with a number of career-building activities, which include guest speaker presentations, professional training workshops, and support for student travel to professional conferences.

Over the past eight years, WTI has supported MSU's Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter in its activities. ITE fosters close relationships between students and transportation engineering professionals. The MSU-ITE Student Chapter organizes regular technical presentations and annual field trips and technical tours, and participates in a number of public service activities. On multiple occasions, the chapter has been named Outstanding Student Chapter in the nation. For more information on MSU's ITE Student Chapter, visit the MSU-ITE website.

WTI also supports multidisciplinary student involvement in the Intelligent Transportation Society Rocky Mountain student chapter (ITS-RM). Membership in the ITS-RM student chapter is made up of students from Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Civil Engineering. ITS-RM chapter activities include multidisciplinary student projects, presentations, and technical tours, which highlight career opportunities in the transportation field.

Small grants are made available to student chapter organizations interested in pursuing a project or other educational effort related to the transportation field. For more information on student chapter small grants and student chapter support, click on the Chapter link above.

Transportation Curriculum

A strong undergraduate and graduate transportation curriculum exists within Montana State University's Department of Civil Engineering comprising courses related to pavement design, geometric design, traffic engineering and management, transportation planning, safety and intelligent transportation systems. State-of-the-art laboratory equipment and software packages are utilized in each of these courses to enhance a student's academic experience. For more information on transportation engineering at MSU, visit the Civil Engineering Department website.

K-12 Outreach

In order to develop interest in science and engineering among pre-college-age youth and to increase the diversity of students pursuing transportation-related degrees and careers, WTI participates in a number of K-12 outreach activities. For more information on current outreach programs, click on the Outreach link above.