Montana State University
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 17.5-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 199 Title IV programs, 49 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 150 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing49 · 24.6%
- No Data150 · 75.4%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Programmatic accreditations · 12
Action history · 16
- Mar 2025Renewal of AccreditationNorthwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
- Oct 2024Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
- Jan 2024Approved for Distance EducationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Apr 2023Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
- Apr 2023Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 3,037 students received $16.7M in Pell grants, alongside $55.9M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 2,992 borrowers who entered repayment, 36 (1.2%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Montana State
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 7
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus21
- Non-campus6
Includes 12 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Sexual orientation1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- South Hedges Hall1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
Data quality: 6 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Montana State vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Montana State selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectMontana State University | 57% | — | 17,135 | $22,499 | R1 Research |
| 49% | 95.9% | 10,811 | $16,784 | R1 Research | |
| 46% | 74.7% | 23,124 | $11,900 | R1 Research | |
| 57% | 92.5% | 28,904 | $14,936 | R1 Research | |
| 67% | 88.5% | 34,096 | $21,279 | R1 Research | |
| 65% | 86.0% | 36,894 | $16,200 | R1 Research | |
| Peer group median | 57% | 88.5% | 26,014 | $16,492 |
Institutions like Montana State
Explore the federal data for institutions in Montana State's comparison group.
- R1 ResearchMontana
The University of Montana
Grad rate49%Admit rate95.9%Enrollment10,811Net price$16,784View data - R1 ResearchColorado
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Grad rate46%Admit rate74.7%Enrollment23,124Net price$11,900View data - R1 ResearchUtah
Utah State University
Grad rate57%Admit rate92.5%Enrollment28,904Net price$14,936View data - R1 ResearchColorado
Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Grad rate67%Admit rate88.5%Enrollment34,096Net price$21,279View data - R1 ResearchUtah
University of Utah
Grad rate65%Admit rate86.0%Enrollment36,894Net price$16,200View data
Montana State Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
Reviews Intentional Focus Strategy Effectiveness reports, makes an annual determination of progress towards mission fulfillment and determines mission fulfillment for MSU’s Year Seven Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness Report.
Visit IR office page- Lucas SchalewskiExecutive Director of Institutional Research
Common Data Set
Montana State's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C119,892 applied → 19,769 admitted (99.4%) → 3,743 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Accessible — 99.4% acceptance rate.
Admit rate by gender
C1Admit rate varies by gender.
SAT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% SAT 1070–1290 (median 1200).
ACT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% ACT 21–27 (median 24).
High-school class rank
C10Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Affordability & Value
Where grant aid comes from
H112% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H541% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $26,626 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 59%; first-year retention 82%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 14 pts below the overall rate (45% vs 59%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I345% of classes have under 20 students; 12% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B21% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B115,142 undergraduates and 2,023 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D11,300 transfer applicants → 1,269 admitted (97.5%) → 581 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Montana State University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Montana State.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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