The BHWET team is pleased to announce that the application period for joining the 2025-2026 student cohort will open on Thursday, January 30th, 2025. This application period ends on Friday, February 14th, 2025. Late applications will not be considered.
On this page, please find and carefully review a summary of important program dates, the list of BHWET student eligibility requirements and other information for applicants, and, finally, the detailed application instructions.
Important Dates
- Wednesday, January 29th, 2025, from 5:30-7:00PM (Mountain Time): BHWET program director Dr. Mary-Ann Sontag will host a virtual information session to provide a program overview, explain the application process, and answer any program questions. Here is the link for this meeting. If you cannot attend the live meeting, a recording of it will be posted here.
- Thursday, January 30th, 2025: BHWET student application period begins. To apply, see ‘application instructions’ below.
- Friday, February 14th: Application period closes. You will need to have submitted your application before 11:59PM on this day. Late applications will not be considered.
- Monday, February 24th, 1:00-4:00PM: BHWET student interview day at Missoula College in Missoula, MT. *All applicants must be able to attend the interview day in-person except under extraordinary circumstances*
Student Eligibility Requirements
A successful BHWET candidate is currently enrolled in one of four behavioral health training programs at the University of Montana or Montana State University:
- Masters in Social Work
- Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or School Counseling
- Doctor of Psychology
- Doctor of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practice
Additional eligibility requirements include:
- Applicants must be in good academic standing within their program. A student’s overall progress toward degree completion will be considered in evaluating applications.
- Applicants from the departments of social work and counseling must be in their second year of study or equivalent.
- Psychology doctoral students (clinical or school) should have completed at least one year of 534 practicum before entering a BHWET placement. This means that Clinical students would be in at least their third year and School doctoral students in their fourth year in their respective training programs when they begin their BHWET placement. Preference will be given to students with advanced standing in their academic program, as defined by meeting program requirements and gaining supervised experience in behavioral health service provision.
- Applicants seeking the degree of doctor of psychiatric mental health nurse practice should be entering their final rotation(s).
*Note: applying and interviewing does not guarantee a BHWET site placement. In some cases, site placement interviews may occur in addition to BHWET program interviews. BHWET faculty and staff can help to facilitate site interviews.
Other Information for Applicants
The BHWET team is committed to ensuring that every student who meets the eligibility requirements feels welcome to apply. We encourage applications from students traditionally underrepresented in higher education and in professional health care settings.
As behavioral health care providers, BHWET students will often need to think on their feet and quickly adapt their prior knowledge and training to new clients and circumstances. Our student interview process correspondingly utilizes a rotating group interview format that is designed to facilitate dynamic interactions among applicants and faculty.
If you are unsure whether this format matches your needs as an applicant, please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions. As we work to build Montana’s future health care work force, the BHWET team remains committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and in practice, this means that we will work with you to develop appropriate accommodations to support your application and interview process.
2025-2026 Application Instructions
To complete your BHWET application, you will need to upload the following items. Following this itemized list, please also review the instructions for uploading your application materials.
- Letter of interest
- CV
- Attestation of Good Academic Standing(transcripts are not required. A personal statement such as, ‘I am in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward degree completion. Sincerely, Mary Smith’ will suffice.)
- 3 Professional References
- Site Placement Preferences (3 Max; click here for past BHWET site placements).
Instructions for Uploading your Application Materials:
- Submit all materials as two PDF or .DOX files:
- Document 1: Letter of Interest, Attestation, and site placement preferences.
- Document 2: CV and References
- Label documents accordingly: last name, first name, first four letters of your home department, LOI or CV (e.g., Smith, Mary, COUN, LOI)
Contacts
Dr. Mary-Ann Sontag, Project Director: mary-ann.sontag@umt.edu
Tim Schehl, Program Manager: tim.schehl@umt.edu