About
Catamount is an interdisciplinary learning experience for senior-level students at MRU to engage in community-partnered research. Working alongside a community partner and faculty mentor, students apply a systems thinking approach to a community-identified, complex social and/or environmental issue. Diving into social innovation frameworks, experiential learning and deep listening with the community, students explore the root causes of ecological, social, economic, and cultural issues. Catamount is offered in the winter term each year.
What you’ll experience
Catamount builds upon what was learned through the Student Changemaker Certificate offered in the fall semester through a real-world lens, working alongside a community partner and faculty mentor. Through community-engaged research, you will enhance your capacity to apply systems thinking approaches to complex issues, while deepening your ability to make meaningful change.
Enhance your research skills
Through community-engaged research, you will explore the root causes of a community-identified complex, systemic issue.
Engage community
Practice applying participatory approaches to engage with community through a community conversation that you host.
Create and showcase your learning
You will create a portfolio of learning based on your research in collaboration with your community partner and faculty mentor.
Who is this for?
Catamount is open to senior-level undergraduate students at MRU who have completed the Student Changemaker Certificate (offered in the Fall Semester). Students who are interested in participating in Catamount should apply for the Certificate program when registration opens in August.
You would be a good fit for Catamount if:
- You have an interest in community-engaged research
- You have a readiness for working with the community in a collaborative way
- You’re in Good Standing academically (note: there is no minimum GPA to qualify for the Fellowship)
- You’re a student at MRU with a minimum of 60 credits completed towards your degree or 30 credits towards your diploma
- You’re able to commit between 5-10 hours per week to the fellowship*
- You're able to attend cohort gatherings from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm on Fridays in the Winter Semester
*We highly recommend taking no more than 4 courses through the winter term due to the demands of the deliverables throughout the fellowship.
Program details
Key dates
- November 14: Applications open (You must have completed the Student Changemaker Certificate to apply)
- November 21: Application deadline
- December 1: Catamount Fellows announced
- December 12: Catamount opening gathering
- April 10: Catamount Showcase + Closing Celebration
Time commitment
Cash award
Course credit
Catamount may be eligible for course credit in some degree or diploma programs. Contact us to discuss how.
Who's involved in the Catamount 2025/2026
15 organization partners
- Sarah Hughes, Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Ryan Andersen, Calgary Alliance for the Common Good
- Alyssa Lindsay, Calgary Foundation
- Chloe Hahn, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Southern Alberta
- Shannon Smithwick, Canada WaterPortal
- Derek Cook, Canadian Poverty Institute
- Alejandro Terrones, Resilience Institute
- Jennifer Makar, City of Calgary
- Tyson Bankert, Community Development Learning Initiative
- Rebecca Foshole-Luke, Family Advocacy Support Centre (FASC)
- Victoria Meah, Palix Foundation
- Agnes Chen, Starlings Community
- Ryan Watmough, Town of Golden
- Kate Heney, Trellis
- Susan Brooke, United Way
14 faculty mentors from MRU
- Kris Hans, Public Relations
- Esra Ari, Sociology and Anthropology
- Elizabeth Richardson, Biology
- Lauren Dwyer, Information Design
- Heather Nelson, General Education
- Carlos Fiorentino, Information Design
- Robin E. Owen, Biology
- Kathy Rettie, General Education
- Harpreet Aulakh, Criminal Justice
- Elaine Ori, Health and Physical Education
- Cherie Woolmer, Mokakiiks Centre for Scholarship Of Teaching and Learning
- Anh Thu Nguyen, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and Social Innovation
- Leda Stawnychko, General Management and Human Resources
- Jamie Anne Vaughan, General Management and Human Resources
14 student changemakers from MRU
- Coming soon
We will explore 14 complex issues, including youth employment, housing and resilience, and ecological sustainability, to name a few.
How to apply
Applications for the Student Changemaker Certificate open August 1st of each year. Students who have completed the Certificate are eligible to apply for Catamount in the current year or future years as long as they are taking courses at MRU within that academic year.
Missed the deadline? Complete the form below to receive updates for next year’s fellowship.
“ Catamount is a transformative learning experience that provides future leaders with skills and exposure to applied systems thinking. This offers new ways of conceptualizing problems and designing ways to address challenges. We can't address the same old problems with the same old thinking.
Catamount Community Partner
“ Being introduced to this systems change work has led me to consider other areas where a psychology degree is useful. I now have a newfound respect for research and am looking for other ways to get involved in it. I’ve sought out opportunities in marketing, market research, organizational psychology, etc.
2024 Catamount Fellow
Past program deliverables
Curious to see more from the Fellowship?
Check out past years' Catamount Fellows
Questions?
Contact Cordelia Snowdon-Lawley at csnowdon@mtroyal.ca.
Did you know?! Catamount is a synonym for a cougar. Not only does ‘cat’ derive from catalyst but ‘mount’ references to both our name and evokes the challenge of climbing a summit. We chose Catamount because like all large cats, they are an example of a keystone species and their range extends through virtually all of southern Alberta. After watching so many unique lives flourish in the first cohort of this program, it only made sense to reimagine a name that suggests the unique and large journey the fellowship took them on.