Montana State University

Basic Stats

Costs

Career Pathways offered by institution

• Advanced Manufacturing, Agricultural Mechanics and Construction, Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Arts, A/V Technology and Communication, Business Management, Design & Construction, Education, Finance, Health Professions, Hospitality & Tourism, Human Services, Information Technology, Marketing, STEM, Transportation, Welding & Fabrication, Other Specialized Programs

Academic Programs

8 Undergraduate Academic Colleges; Honors College; Graduate College and over 250 different academic programs.
College of Agriculture—Land grant school in MT, Biotechnology, Environmental Sciences, Land Rehab/Land Resources, Equine Science and more. Large endowment for scholarships in this college!

Arts and Architecture—Architecture (5-year accelerated master’s), Graphic Design, Film (only Natural History Filmmaking program in world), Music opportunities for non-majors; marching band students get great scholarships; many study abroad opportunities. Hot program is a major in Music Technology. Students will find amazing state of the art equipment and labs in this college.

Jake Jabs College of Business—Opened Jabs Hall in 2016 which houses the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, AACSB accredited (only 5% in the world are), Accounting/CPA pass rate continually towards the top in the nation, popular minor in Entrepreneurship. In the Fall of 2025, Montana State University broke ground on the VIM, MSU's on-campus hotel, which will provide Hospitality Management students with applied experiences in their field right on campus!

College of Education, Health and Human Development— Both elementary and secondary teacher preparation, Tech Ed, Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Nutrition/Dietetics, Health Promotion. New early childhood P-3 option and a new gerontology certificate. More that 90% of recent Education grads are employed in field of their choice. Launched new Hospitality Management degree in Fall 2017.

Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering—Completed the new $70 million Asbjornson Hall in December 2018 which now houses the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. Students have pass rate on the Fundamentals of Engineering exam which is 10 points higher than the national average while remaining one of the less than 10 percent of schools that require all graduating students to take the exam. 13 different majors spread across 10 departments.

College of Letters and Science— New minor in Global Health. Paleontology and Snow Science two hot programs in Earth Sciences; Japan studies option; Recent MSU medical school applicants were admitted into medical schools at a rate that is 20% higher than the national average. WWAMI medical program is located at MSU. The department of modern languages offers courses in Japanese, Arabic and Mandarin and have many direct exchange programs.

Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing— Offering educational opportunities at hospitals in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula; MSU is the largest supplier of baccalaureate prepared nurses in Montana. The College of Nursing received a gift of $101 million in the fall of 2021, which will provide student scholarships, new facilities, and a new midwifery degree, ensuring that Nursing graduates will continue to have high NCLEX pass rates, 100% job placement, and rank among the highest paid MSU graduates.

University Studies—Undecided students comprise approximately 12% of the freshman class this fall; the campus wide advising center is located in University Studies. 

Other programs of interest to students—Honors College (~1,700 students), Liberal Studies, American Studies, Leadership Fellows Program, Pre-Law, Pre-Health Professions, Pre-Vet and Undergraduate Scholars Program.

Dates to Remember

• Housing Applications - apply and pay deposit online. Housing's Application opens on October 1st each year. Priority housing deadline for Fall 2025 will be 1/31/2027 so encourage your students to apply sooner than later. $300 deposit with $100 refundable if requested by 3/1/2026.
• Need based FAFSA Priority Deadline is 12/1/2026. FAFSA will continued to be accepted after this date.
• Presidential Scholarship Deadline is 12/1/2026 at 3pm MST. The application is completed online.
• Students can apply for admission and self-report their GPA to be automatically considered for our Montana Premier Scholarships. Awards are limited so students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
• Visit Campus - daily virtual and in-person visits year round or join us at a MSU Friday programs. Check for available dates at www.montana.edu/visit.

Deadlines

Student Life & Community

• - MSU is continuing to build and grow to serve your students. MSU recently opened Hyalite Hall (2020), a 510 co-ed freshmen residence hall; opened American Indian Hall (2021); finished a $25 million repurposing of Romney Hall (2022) to add 1,000 classroom seats and give new homes to the Veteran Support Center, Math and Writing Center and other student support centers; opened the new Bobcat Athletic Complex (2023); and completed an entire overhaul of the new Student Wellness Center (2024) that will bring medical, dental, mental health services together with our student exercise facilities.
• - NCAA Division I athletics and 2025-2026 saw the Bobcats continue to succeed athletically with Bobcat Football bringing home a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP for the first time in 41 years!
• - Students can study abroad at over 250 locations worldwide and/or at hundreds of institutions in the USA.
• - The Office of Student Engagement connects hundreds of student volunteers with projects that provide valuable human and community services in the Bozeman area and throughout other parts of the state and the nation.
• - Whatever you did in high school, you can probably find here and more. MSU offers more than 300 students clubs, ranging from club hockey to horticulture club. 75% of students participate in intramural sports.
• Student Life and Community

Campus Visit

We invite you to come see all that Montana State University has to offer! College is a big decision and it’s important to make sure MSU is the right place for you. Check out our in-person, group and/or virtual daily visit opportunities through our Visit MSU site: https://www.montana.edu/admissions/visit/

Highlights

• 65% of the MUS Honors Scholars (160 out of 216) selected MSU in the fall of 2025.
• Approximately 205 employers, including Boeing, Zoot Enterprises, Land O’ Lakes, Micron, US Department of State, FDIC, and Bobcat Company visited with our students in early October at the Annual Fall Career Fair. Additionally, over 50 employers conducted personal interviews after the fair. Organizations come twice a year to recruit MSU students for their internship & full-time employment needs.
• MSU has produced 90 Goldwater Scholarships, tying us for 9th in the nation and 3rd in the western US behind Stanford and Caltech. Schools just above MSU in the total rankings include Harvard, Princeton, Duke and tied with MSU are Johns Hopkins and Penn State.
• MSU is one of only 187 institutions nationwide to receive R1 ("Very High Research Activity") research status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. In fact, for the SIXTH consecutive year, MSU set a new record for research expenditure, topping $288 million in 2024 - 2025! MSU is one of two institutions nationally to receive this research classification, while also being classified as having an enrollment profile of "very high undergraduate." Put these with MSU's beautiful location and MSU is truly one of a kind.
• Spending over $288 million in fiscal year 2024-2025. MSU is the largest research entity in the state of Montana and is among the top 3% of colleges and universities for research expenditures.
• The Academic Advising Center is available to all students. In addition to general advising, it provides help with changing majors, career exploration and much more.
• While MSU has grown, our average GPA and test scores have continued to increase. In the fall of 2025, the average GPA was a 3.73, *ACT: 24.4, *SAT: 1193. *Note: ACT/SAT scores are optional, and NOT required for admissions purposes.

Important Things To Know

• MSU is test optional for Admissions AND scholarship purposes for students entering the fall of 2025, and beyond. Encourage your students to apply and submit their credentials as soon as possible. MSU offers part time options, exemptions and provisional options for those that do not meet our stated requirements.