When pursuing a degree in today’s world, there are many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Top Montana Colleges ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Our analysis looked at 11 schools in Montana to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors – such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school’s average expenditure per student – to make this determination.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
We’ve developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Top Colleges in Montana
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Montana State University tops this year’s ranking as the best school in Montana for overall quality. This fairly large public school is located in Bozeman, Montana, and it awarded 3,410 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from MSU Bozeman make an average of $49,066 a year.
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A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Montana list means The University of Montana is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.Missoula, Montana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 3,113 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,194 during the early years of their career..
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Out of the 11 schools in Montana that were part of this year’s ranking, Carroll College landed the #3 spot on the list. Carroll Montana is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Helena, Montana. It awarded 308 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $57,154 during the early years of their career..
Full Carroll College Report
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Montana list means University of Providence is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. University of Providence is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Great Falls, Montana. It awarded 357 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Providence make an average of $39,417 a year.
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A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Montana list means Montana Technological University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Montana Tech is a public institution located in Butte, Montana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 374 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Montana Tech is $49,032 during the early years of their career.
Full Montana Technological University Report
The University of Montana – Western came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Montana ranking. Montana Western is a public institution located in Dillon, Montana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 351 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Montana Western is $39,755 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on The University of Montana – Western
Rocky Mountain College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges in Montana ranking. Located in Billings, Montana, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 223 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Rocky make an average of $46,400 a year.
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Montana State University – Billings landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges in Montana ranking.Billings, Montana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 791 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Montana State University – Billings go into careers with an average salary of $40,043 during the early years of their career.
Full Montana State University – Billings Report
With a ranking of #9, Montana State University – Northern did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Montana list. Located in Havre, Montana, the small public school awarded 273 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Montana State University – Northern make an average of $42,403 a year.
Read full report on Montana State University – Northern
Helena College University of Montana did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Montana ranking, coming in at #10. Helena College is a small public school situated in Helena, Montana. It awarded 210 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $39,421 during the early years of their career..
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Flathead Valley Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges in Montana list. Flathead Valley Community College is a small public school located in Kalispell, Montana that handed out 312 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $32,078 during the early years of their career..
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
