The University of North Dakota Institute for Borderland Studies was
formed in 2008, with one of its stated goals being the strengthening of support for research on the US-Canada borderlands byscholars working in the American Great Plains and the Canadian Prairies.

The institute also works towards strengthening a pre-existing relationship between the University of North Dakota and the University of Manitoba, which was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed in September 2006. It also encourages exchange among members of the Northern Border University Research Consortium (Western Washington University, Montana State University, the University of North Dakota, Michigan State University, SUNY-Buffalo, and the University of Maine).