Take a campus tour at the University of Montana and get a student's perspective of our park-like campus. We offer several campus tours throughout the year, including popular Daily On-Campus Visits and special events like Honors Day Visits, Extended Saturday Tours and Griz Preview Days for admitted students only. For those who can't make it in person, we also have a UM Virtual Visit to experience Missoula from afar.
Scroll on to see all the campus tours at the University of Montana, and meet Julia Brink, an esteemed alumnus and past Lead Griz Ambassador, and get her tips on making the most of a UM campus tour in Missoula.
Our standard campus tour is always a crowd favorite. These 90-minute walking tours start with a welcome presentation and cover most of campus, including a a stop at our Knowles Residence Hall showroom and Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Share your academic interests when registering for a tour, and Admissions will help customize your visit to explore specific programs, interact with faculty and have time with resource offices. We can also arrange for tours of our Missoula College River or West campuses by request.
Want to see a little bit more of Missoula while you’re here? Add our Mini Bus tour to either campus tour option, and we’ll take you on a 30-minute driving tour so you can check out your new home with a student tour guide driving our very own Griz Bus.
These special tours, offered on select days and times from November through June, are similar to the daily visits but are only available to incoming Grizzlies who’ve applied and been admitted. This means you’ll tour our campus with future classmates and dive deeper into your college life with this tour catered specifically to you. Admitted Student Information Sessions include lunch in The Lodge Dining Center, so you can get a taste of your dining options when you’re a part of our campus community.
These seasonal half-day events offer a detailed look into UM's academic offerings and campus life. Offered on select dates in the late summer and fall, Griz Preview Days are open to any interested student and offer valuable opportunities to meet future classmates and faculty, and to start envisioning your academic journey at UM.
Offered twice in the spring, Admitted Student Days are exclusively for students who have applied and been admitted to UM, and offer valuable opportunities to connect deeply with our community so you can feel confident that you’re ready to become a Grizzly.
This half-day event is just for juniors in high school. Get a glimpse at UM's academic offerings and campus life, start preparing for what you need to do to apply to become a Grizzly during your senior year and start envisioning your journey at UM.
This unique full-day event is designed for high school juniors and seniors interested in our Davidson Honors College (DHC). The extended tour and immersive program highlight a day in the life of the DHC, including a mock class straight from the first year’s curriculum.
School groups, gaggles of peers and sleuths of bears are welcome to enjoy a customized group tour with advance notice. Schedule your group visit!
Julia Brink, Class of 2025, graduated with a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology (Read More: My Research Experience at UM). She started her job as a Neuropsychometrist at St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula after graduating, and is applying for graduate school.
Originally from Erie, Colorado, Julia was looking for a mid-sized college ingrained with an outdoor culture, and found that in Missoula and UM. She quickly fit in and soon became a Griz Ambassador, advocating for the university and leading hundreds of campus tours.
And she has some great advice for anyone interested in touring the University of Montana:
Julia has led over 130 campus tours throughout every season in Montana. She can recite all the fast and fun facts about campus in her sleep. But she’s also gained valuable insight on how to seize the opportunities that a campus tour provides, which she’s happy to share:
Q: What’s Your Biggest Piece of Advice for Students Taking a College Tour?
Julia: I think my biggest piece of advice is to ask more questions. It’s really valuable for students to ask their own questions. Even if it may seem really small, even if they are like, “What if I don’t like my roommate?” or “What if this happens?” Those are all things we’ve all thought about and experienced. It’s why students give tours because we’ve been through it.
Q: What’s Your Biggest Piece of Advice for Parents on a College Tour?
Julia: Push your student to do some more talking and push them to think about their life here. In addition to asking questions, parents can really help in getting a student to engage in a tour and imagine themselves living here.
Q: Any Other Advice for Students and Families?
Julia: I always tell people to budget some time to explore Missoula. Because you come on a campus tour but you’re not going to spend your entire life on campus. You’re going to spend a lot of your time in Missoula. And always ask your tour guide for recommendations.
Q: What’s Your Favorite Part of the Campus Tour?
Julia: My favorite part of the tour is Memorial Row because it has a lot of facts about it, and I think it’s really an intentional spot that students don’t think about a lot. All the trees planted on Memorial Row are Ponderosa Pines. They’re planted to remember all the UM students and alums who fought and passed away in World War II.
Q: What’s Your Favorite Time of Year to Give Campus Tours?
Julia: Fall! I think summer is beautiful, and Missoula is very alive, but there are not as many students on campus, and fall in Missoula is incredible. The leaves are beautiful, and the University District is full of colors. It’s still that time of year when it’s cold at night and still warm during the day. Fall is always my favorite time of year to give tours.
Q: Is Winter a Good Time to Visit?
Julia: I think (the winter) is sometimes a good time to visit. People might think Montana winters are terrible, and that’s what I hear from all my family members that don’t live here. They think it’s just the worst. But if you come here and you see that people still go to school, people still go to class, people still walk around, we still have fun, and you see that life still happens in abundance when it’s snowy outside. I think it takes away that wall of Montana winters are so scary.
Can’t make it to campus in person? No problem. Check out some of the virtual tour options available:
Take advantage of our fully virtual campus tour, created with omnidirectional cameras (360⁰ cameras). This immersive virtual tour hits several major spots on campus, including the University Center, dining halls, residence halls and the Fitness and Recreation Center.
Check out UM’s featured episode of Amazon’s “The College Tour,” where host Alex Boylan dives into campus with help from students and the community. Don’t forget the popcorn!