Montana State University

Montana State University (MSU) is the largest university in Montana. The university offers over 250 undergraduate programs, over 115 graduate programs, and twenty job-focused programs from Gallatin College. MSU is located in Bozeman, Montana, and the president is Dr. Waded Cruzado.

The Center for World University Rankings ranks MSU in the top five percent of universities in the world, in the top 175 colleges in the U.S., and the number one university in Montana. In the Northwest region of the U.S., MSU is the top producer of recipients of the Goldwater Scholarship, a competitive national award given to math, science, and engineering students.

A Look at Montana State University (Jan 2017)

Montana State University is a Carnegie top-tier R1 research university and the largest research entity in the state of Montana, with approximately $200 million in annual research expenditures.As of 2021, MSU holds 58 patents for innovations and processes developed through faculty research, with 52 additional patents pending, and 297 license and option agreements, 87 of which are with Montana companies.

Montana State University has an enrollment of 16,841 as of October 2022 and offers a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The student body is divided almost equally among state residents (53%) and non-residents (47%) and males (52%) and females (48%). Undergraduate students make up 14,668 of the population, with the remaining 2,173 being graduate students as of October 2022. MSU hosts international students from fifty-nine other countries.

MSU is a member of the NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference. The school colors are blue and gold, and the teams are nicknamed "The Bobcats."

Bozeman, Montana

Montana State University is located in Bozeman, Montana, a town of about 53,000 people surrounded by millions of acres of wilderness. Bozeman is known as one of the top towns for outdoor recreation and quality of life in the United States, ranking in Money's 50 Best Places to Live in 2020. Sunset Magazine ranked Bozeman in its 2019 10 Best College Towns in the West.

Montana State University is the fastest-growing and largest university in Montana with enrollment growing from 11,760 in 2010 to 16,841 as of October 2022. Part of this success is attributed to the College of Engineering's growing enrollment and the university's efforts to keep students in school, reduce dropouts and encourage students to stay on track to graduate. Since 2010, MSU has produced three Rhodes Scholars, two Gates-Cambridge Scholars, one Marshall Scholar, four Schwarzman Scholars, eight Truman Scholars, eight Udall Scholars, and eighty-two Goldwater Scholars.

In 2012, MSU's President Cruzado launched the “Freshman 15” program, an initiative that incentivizes all students to enroll in more credits, adding more “weight” to their class schedules. The tuition charge is the same for any hours over twelve, so students can save money and graduate faster. In the fall of 2015, Bloomberg News featured a five-minute segment devoted to MSU’s “Know Your Debt Letter,” an initiative that has resulted in students taking more credits, reducing their debt, and graduating in a timely manner.

Montana State University was established on February 16, 1893, by an act of the Montana state legislature and classes began on April 17 of that year. MSU is Montana's first land-grant university and was authorized by the Morrill Act of 1862. The first president of the university was Mr. Augustus M. Ryon.

MSU was originally called the Agricultural College of the State of Montana when it was founded, then later renamed The Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, more commonly called the Montana Agricultural College, or MAC. By the 1920s, the institution's preferred name was Montana State College.

On July 1, 1965, the thirty-ninth legislative assembly of the state of Montana officially changed the institution's name to Montana State University.