Big Sky Times

Montana State University is celebrating. 

With university enrollment numbers falling across the country and even in Missoula, this fall MSU had its second-biggest increase in enrollment in its history. Retention rates are up and graduation rates are strong.

MSU is Montana’s largest university with a total enrollment of 16,092 students.

Montana State Rep. Brad Tschida

State Rep. Brad Tschida (R- Missoula) told the Big Sky Times that students are flocking to MSU because of its job-focused curriculum. 

“MSU is offering programs such as nursing, engineering and architecture that can give students a viable career," Tschida said. "Bozeman is doing a fantastic job in recruiting students because of the programs that they offer."

In Missoula, for the eighth year in a row, enrollment numbers are down at the University of Montana. Tschida says sensible belt-tightening and a new, non-traditional director have things at UM going in the right direction, he believes. University of Montana President Seth Bodnar, a relatively young businessman and Army veteran, is a “very impressive guy who is sure to move the needle there,” Tschida said. 

MSU’s focus on technology is something that would benefit UM students as well, Tschida said. The tech focus is attractive to both in-state students and students from out of state.

“MSU offers programs that have a turnaround and a repayment possibility on the education they are giving,” Tschida said. “MSU gives students an opportunity to get into a work field that will allow them to repay the money that they are borrowing to go to school. If you get a degree in the humanities or in psychology, that is all well and good, but what do you do with that degree to make a living?”

MSU offers 250 academic options, including degrees in humanities and psychology. MSU has also distinguished itself as a research institution.

Out of more than 4,000 universities in America, MSU is one of only 130 that has been designated a university with very high research activity by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research’s Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The Carnegie Classification singled out two universities in America – MSU and UC Santa Cruz – with an enrollment profiled “very high undergraduate,” meaning that MSU undergrads have many unique opportunities to get experience in research.