BOZEMAN — Montana State University was ranked as the best college in Montana for 2026 by research.com, a website that publishes annual rankings for colleges and universities across the country.
In addition to earning the No. 1 best college in Montana accolade, the website also ranked MSU as the No. 1 most affordable college in Montana, No. 1 best value college in Montana, and the No. 4 most popular college in Montana.
Nationally, MSU earned a No. 5 ranking as the most affordable college in the western U.S. and No. 18 as the most affordable college nationwide.
The rankings also highlight MSU’s role as a public land-grant institution that serves the needs of all Montanans, noting its academic excellence in agriculture, natural research management and engineering. It also emphasizes its research expenditures and applications across a wide variety of academic disciplines and MSU’s prime location in Bozeman with proximity to Yellowstone National Park and other natural wonders.
Research.com calculates data-driven rankings by using numerical, quantitative data from independent sources to avoid inaccuracies associated with surveys and opinion polls, according to its website.
Relatedly, MSU has repeatedly earned a distinction of being a Carnegie R1 research institution, indicating “very high” research output and doctoral education, and has set new research expenditure records year after year, with expenditures from 2024-25 totaling $288.7 million. The university has also significantly grown its student body in recent years, becoming the first university in the state to cross the 17,000-student mark in 2024. MSU has also seen consistently high graduation rates and student retention, and it is the single largest employer in Bozeman and a top employer across the state.
Other notable rankings for MSU include its consistent placement as a top three military-friendly U.S. school by militaryfriendly.com and as in the top 3.7% of institutions reviewed by the Center for World University Rankings.
For more information on MSU’s academic offerings, visit montana.edu/academics. To apply, visit montana.edu/apply.