Enrollment Trends at MSU

The student population at Montana State University is 17,135 (15,046 undergraduate and 2,089 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 1,899 (12.46%) over the past decade.

Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at MSU is 87.81% which is increased by 1,413 over last 10 years. The graduate student population increased by 486 and it has been increasing.
Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 108 male students for every 100 female students, down from 118 in 2015.
909 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 195.13% since 2015.

School Home 2024 Student Population

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 16,550 where 17,135 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 6 year-over-year increases and 3 decreases. It peaked at 17,135 students in 2025 and was lowest at 15,236 in 2016. Overall, enrollment rose from 15,236 to 17,135 students, a net gain of 1,899 (12.5%).

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Montana State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	15,236	13,633	7,504	6,129	1,603	753	850
2016-17	16,359 1,123	14,340 707	7,896 392	6,444 315	2,019 416	930 177	1,089 239
2017-18	16,613 254	14,652 312	7,939 43	6,713 269	1,961 -58	915 -15	1,046 -43
2018-19	16,814 201	14,851 199	8,020 81	6,831 118	1,963 2	907 -8	1,056 10
2019-20	16,692 -122	14,760 -91	7,902 -118	6,858 27	1,932 -31	857 -50	1,075 19
2020-21	16,218 -474	14,230 -530	7,540 -362	6,690 -168	1,988 56	841 -16	1,147 72
2021-22	16,788 570	14,648 418	7,835 295	6,813 123	2,140 152	898 57	1,242 95
2022-23	16,681 -107	14,625 -23	7,790 -45	6,835 22	2,056 -84	881 -17	1,175 -67
2023-24	16,960 279	14,872 247	7,966 176	6,906 71	2,088 32	883 2	1,205 30
2024-25	17,135 175	15,046 174	7,948 -18	7,098 192	2,089 1	931 48	1,158 -47
Average	16,550	14,566	7,834	6,732	1,984	880	1,104

Montana State University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 14,566 where 15,046 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Montana State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	13,633	11,671	6,466	5,205	1,962	1,038	924
2016-17	14,340	12,248	6,757	5,491	2,092	1,139	953
2017-18	14,652	12,403	6,787	5,616	2,249	1,152	1,097
2018-19	14,851	12,516	6,803	5,713	2,335	1,217	1,118
2019-20	14,760	12,359	6,664	5,695	2,401	1,238	1,163
2020-21	14,230	12,026	6,362	5,664	2,204	1,178	1,026
2021-22	14,648	12,317	6,599	5,718	2,331	1,236	1,095
2022-23	14,625	12,535	6,688	5,847	2,090	1,102	988
2023-24	14,872	12,829	6,911	5,918	2,043	1,055	988
2024-25	15,046	12,970	6,953	6,017	2,076	995	1,081
Average	14,566	14,566	6,699	5,688	14,566	1,135	1,043

Montana State University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,984 where 2,089 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Montana State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	1,603	525	270	255	1,078	483	595
2016-17	2,019	566	273	293	1,453	657	796
2017-18	1,961	589	287	302	1,372	628	744
2018-19	1,963	569	268	301	1,394	639	755
2019-20	1,932	487	230	257	1,445	627	818
2020-21	1,988	551	229	322	1,437	612	825
2021-22	2,140	667	265	402	1,473	633	840
2022-23	2,056	624	260	364	1,432	621	811
2023-24	2,088	581	238	343	1,507	645	862
2024-25	2,089	578	243	335	1,511	688	823
Average	1,984	1,984	256	317	1,984	623	787

Montana State University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 81.76%. The percentage was 84.39% 10 years ago and MSU still has a high percentage of white students. 1.04% of enrolled students is Asian and 0.58% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 6.37% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 84.39% to 81.76%. Asian enrollment grew from 0.82% to 1.04%. Black student enrollment decreased from 0.62% to 0.58%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 3.50% to 6.37%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.3243 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.2854 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Montana State University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
Year	2015-16	247	125	94	533	26	12,857	471
2016-17	248	160	101	605	21	13,630	604
2017-18	260	156	74	663	17	13,876	693
2018-19	263	162	86	701	20	13,972	823
2019-20	216	158	69	735	16	13,972	811
2020-21	237	169	68	780	13	13,610	803
2021-22	264	182	77	845	13	14,004	864
2022-23	231	193	71	923	14	13,845	868
2023-24	260	179	77	933	12	14,104	896
2024-25	283	179	100	1,092	13	14,010	898
Average	251	166	82	781	17	13,788	773

Montana State University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

909 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 5% of total students. The number of online students has increased 195.13% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Montana State University from 2015 to 2025.

Year	Total Enrollment	Online Completely	Enrolled in Some Online Courses	Not Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-16	15,236	308	959	13,969
2016-17	16,359	589	1,040	14,730
2017-18	16,613	664	1,125	14,824
2018-19	16,814	530	1,235	15,049
2019-20	16,692	493	1,634	14,565
2020-21	16,216	1,090	6,815	8,311
2021-22	16,788	1,044	2,510	13,234
2022-23	16,681	1,074	2,248	13,359
2023-24	16,960	1,009	2,464	13,487
2024-25	17,135	909	2,540	13,686
Average	16,549	771	2,257	13,521

Most Searched Montana Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

Montana State University Public, 4-year | Bozeman
The University of Montana Public, 4-year | Missoula
University of Providence Private, 4-year | Great Falls
Montana Technological University Public, 4-year | Butte
Montana Bible College Private, 4-year | Billings
Montana State University Billings Public, 4-year | Billings
Stone Child College Public, 4-year | Box Elder
Great Falls College Montana State University Public, 2-4 year | Great Falls
Rocky Mountain College Private, 4-year | Billings
Carroll College Private, 4-year | Helena

compare schools

Graduate

The University of Montana Public, 4-year | Missoula
University of Providence Private, 4-year | Great Falls
Montana State University Public, 4-year | Bozeman
Montana Technological University Public, 4-year | Butte
Rocky Mountain College Private, 4-year | Billings
Carroll College Private, 4-year | Helena
Montana State University-Northern Public, 4-year | Havre
Salish Kootenai College Public, 4-year | Pablo
Montana State University Billings Public, 4-year | Billings
The University of Montana-Western Public, 4-year | Dillon

compare schools

Online Schools

Carroll College Private, 4-year | Helena
The University of Montana Public, 4-year | Missoula
Montana State University Billings Public, 4-year | Billings
Montana Technological University Public, 4-year | Butte
Rocky Mountain College Private, 4-year | Billings
Montana State University-Northern Public, 4-year | Havre
University of Providence Private, 4-year | Great Falls
Dawson Community College Public, 2-4 year | Glendive
The University of Montana-Western Public, 4-year | Dillon
Chief Dull Knife College Public, 2-4 year | Lame Deer

compare schools

Trade Schools

Montana Technological University Public, 4-year | Butte
Butte Academy of Beauty Culture Private, Less than 2-year | Butte
Montana Academy of Salons Private, Less than 2-year | Great Falls
The University of Montana Public, 4-year | Missoula
Highlands College of Montana Tech Public, 2-4 year | Butte
Crevier's Academy of Cosmetology Arts Private, Less than 2-year | Kalispell
Salish Kootenai College Public, 4-year | Pablo
Blackfeet Community College Private, 4-year | Browning
Rocky Mountain College Private, 4-year | Billings
Academy of Cosmetology Inc Private, Less than 2-year | Bozeman

compare schools

Enrollment Trends at MSU

Student Population Changes

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

Graduate Enrollment Changes

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

Ratings & Review