Montana State enrolls record 17,477 students, welcomes largest ever incoming first-year class

BOZEMAN - Delayne Lindeen, a junior studying business finance, transferred to Montana State University this past spring. Lindeen, who'd been attending college in Billings, said she wanted the experience of living a little farther from her hometown of Huntley.

Coming from a graduating high school class of 50, she said it was a bit intimidating to enter a larger university, but she said that MSU has so many different programs to make campus feel like home that she felt supported the whole way.

Plus, she'd done her research on MSU's business college and "felt confident knowing that coming to MSU and being a business student that I would be successful."

"I have gained a ton of friends, and even though MSU is such a big campus and big school to me, there's so much community around it," she added. "There are a lot of different events, and the networking nights that just help you stay connected to the community, and the professors do a great job of connecting you to different businesses in the Bozeman area too."

Lindeen is one of a record 17,477 students enrolled in classes at MSU this fall. That headcount is 1.8% higher than last fall, and it includes the largest incoming first-year class in MSU history - 3,970 students, which surpasses the prior record incoming class from 2021. In all, MSU enrolled 15,431 undergraduate students, another record, and 2,046 graduate students.

MSU continues to enroll more Montana residents than any other college or university in the state. Montana resident students total 8,735, which is an increase of 216 over last fall. Of those Montana students, 1,592 are attending college for the first time.

"While enrollment numbers matter, what those numbers represent is even more important. They are the thousands of students who recognize Montana State University as the place where opportunity is within reach," said MSU President Brock Tessman. "Our mission as a land-grant university is to keep our doors wide open and make sure that every student who chooses to walk through them has the support to succeed. I'm very proud that so many students have chosen MSU, and I'm excited about what they'll accomplish here and contribute to communities across Montana and beyond."

MSU supports students from the moment they arrive on campus through to graduation with academic advising, tutoring, success coaching, financial guidance and career preparation. Advisers are key to helping students chart their path through their degree programs, while programs like SmartyCats tutoring help strengthen study skills. And MSU's Career Services provides critical help connecting with internships and exploring jobs after college.

Another strong avenue for student support comes through the MSU's Travis W. Atkins Veteran Support Center, which coordinates with offices across the university such as Student Success, Disability Services and Financial Aid to help student-veterans achieve their academic goals. This fall, MSU enrolled 914 students who are receiving veteran benefits, a 10% increase. The university is counted as the best school in the country for military spouses and veterans.

"Throughout their entire MSU journey, there are people who can help them choose the right classes, get through a tough course, make good financial decisions and think about what comes after graduation," said Steve Swinford, vice president for student success. "Students don't have to figure everything out on their own. Our job is to make sure students know where to turn to find the support they need."

One demonstrated avenue toward student success has been MSU's longtime promotion of its Freshman 15 initiative. Undergraduate students do not pay additional tuition for credits beyond their first 12 per semester, so 15 or 18 credits cost the same as 12.

This fall, 87% of incoming freshmen - or 3,288 students - and 70% of all undergraduate students are taking part in the Freshman 15, both record highs.

"We call this focus the Freshman 15, but it's really something we recommend for all students," Swinford said. "It's a great way for our students to save money and graduate faster."

MSU's student retention rate this fall remained strong at 80.2%. The figure measures the number of students who return for their second fall at MSU and is considered highly predictive of student success and eventual graduation.

And speaking of graduation, MSU awarded 3,417 degrees in the last academic year, a figure that includes associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, as well as multiple kinds of certificates. The university's four-year graduation rate set a modern record at 44.5%, an increase of 3.1% from the prior year. Since 2019, MSU's four-year graduation rate has increased by more than 10 percentage points, up from 31.1%.

As the largest university in Montana, MSU continues to play a vital role in meeting the state's workforce needs. Accordingly, MSU saw strong enrollment in Gallatin College MSU, the university's two-year programs that prepare students for immediate employment in in-demand fields, with an enrollment of 1,126 students, an increase of 4.5% percent over last year.

"Our focus is on helping students succeed academically and ensuring they are prepared to build meaningful careers after graduation," said Elizabeth Burroughs, MSU's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. "That means expanding access to higher education, preparing graduates to meet Montana's workforce needs and advancing knowledge that strengthens communities across the state. That's the critical work that our faculty and staff make possible every day by challenging, mentoring and supporting students throughout their time at MSU."

Nursing student Zach Henderson said the MSU campus has always felt welcoming and supportive. Originally from Florence in western Montana's Bitterroot Valley, Henderson has chosen MSU twice: He graduated from MSU in spring 2023 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Then, after working as a patient care technician at Bozeman Health, he applied for MSU's accelerated nursing bachelor's program, which he started this summer.

Henderson said MSU flew to the top of his nursing school list because his time here helped him fall in love with the campus and feel at home.

"I had really built a community here that I loved," he said.

Other facts about MSU's fall enrollment:

• In addition to record headcount, MSU set a record in full-time equivalent, or FTE, enrollment at 16,145. FTE is a figure commonly used in higher education. It is calculated by dividing the total credits taken by all MSU students by a "full-time" number of credits - 15 for undergraduates or 12 for graduate students. A high FTE enrollment is a sign that students are taking more courses per semester.

• MSU welcomed 851 American Indian/Alaska Native students this fall, which is an increase compared to last fall. Other measured demographics included 1,096 students who are Hispanic, 771 Asian students, 340 African-American students and 141 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students.
• The university enrolled 152 new, incoming students who received the Montana University System Honor Scholarship, accounting for 62% of all the award's recipients in the state.
• MSU welcomed 489 dual-enrollment students, an increase from last fall's 421. Dual-enrollment allows Montana high school students to earn college credit and get a jump start on their degrees. Dual-enrollment credits at MSU are housed in Gallatin College MSU.
• MSU's largest college is Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering with 3,389 students, followed by Letters and Science with 3,258; the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship with 2,628; Agriculture with 2,047; Education, Health and Human Development with 1,792; Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing with 1,422; and Arts and Architecture with 1,055.

The fall headcount is tallied after the 15th day of classes each semester.