Interested in taking your learning in the field, backpacking through the Rocky Mountain West while earning college credit? The Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI) is an academic field program that offers undergraduate students opportunities to earn upper-division college credit while backpacking, biking, hiking, and kayaking across landscapes of the Rocky Mountain West. Our courses are accredited through the University of Montana and take place in Montana, Canada, and the American Southwest, combining academic inquiry with cultural immersion and extended backcountry expeditions. Students engage in small, discussion-oriented classes, hands-on, field-based ecological studies, and build authentic connections with community members who live and work in the places we travel through, all the while sleeping in a tent!

We offer a number of scholarships for our courses, too – up to $5,000 for a single award! Students who are interested in joining us for the 2026 field season can submit an initial online application here. For questions, please reach out to WRFI's Student Experience Manager, Kelsey Wellington, at kelsey.wellington@wrfi.net.

Attend this general information session to learn more.