Montana State University Billings is a public institution offering graduate degrees based in Billings, Montana. It enrolls 2,626 students (a mid-sized student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Below you'll find verified data on admissions, cost, student outcomes, programs offered, and what graduates typically earn, all pulled from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard and IPEDS.
AccreditorNorthwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
US College Data scores each college on four pillars (outcomes, value, affordability, and selectivity) on a 0–100 scale, ranked within its peer group (4-Year Open / Online). Scores are calculated from verified College Scorecard and IPEDS data, not opinion or paid placement. Where data is missing, that pillar isn't scored.
Fair
54/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Open / Online
Outcomes33
Value40
Affordability31
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
Admissions data is not yet reported for Montana State University Billings.
Acceptance Rate
—
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Cost & Financial Aid
The real cost of attending Montana State University Billings isn't the sticker price. It's the net price,which is what most students actually pay after grants and scholarships. According to College Scorecard 2023-24 data, the average net price is $16,524 per year. That's below the typical net price for public colleges nationally.
Average Net Price
$16,524
Per year, after typical aid
Receive Pell Grants
25%
Need-based federal aid
Receive Federal Loans
28%
Borrowing to attend
Full Cost Breakdown
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$7,280
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$22,897
Room & Board (on-campus)
$9,980
Room & Board (off-campus)
$12,974
Books & Supplies
$1,450
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$5,570
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$5,570
Total Cost of Attendance
$20,054
Application fee: $30 (one-time, due at submission)
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$13,927
$30,001 – $48,000
$14,387
$48,001 – $75,000
$16,749
$75,001 – $110,000
$18,948
Over $110,000
$20,035
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$2,62510%percentile
$4,64825%percentile
$18,209Medianpercentile
$19,74575%percentile
$31,88990%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $11,000
↓ $7,209
No Pell $9,250
↓ $8,959
Dependent students $8,750
↓ $9,459
Independent students $12,336
↓ $5,873
Female students $10,250
↓ $7,959
Male students $9,500
↓ $8,709
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $7,782, less than completers ($18,209), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
21% of full-time students who enrolled at Montana State University Billings graduate within six years, and 56% return for their second year, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
6-Year Graduation Rate
21%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
56%
Returning for their second year
What this means:
Lower than typical completion. Worth asking the school how they support students who fall behind.
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
According to College Scorecard 2023-24 data, students who entered Montana State University Billings earn a median of $44,296 ten years after first enrolling. That's close to the national median for U.S. colleges.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$44,296
Earning > $25K
70%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$32,500
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$48,500
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$34,500
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$40,700
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$44,800
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $16,000, about 33% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
12.3 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 84% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Montana State University Billings is home to 2,626 students, a mid-sized community. Some distinctive traits: 38% are first-generation college students.
Total Enrolled
2,626
Part-Time
31%
First-Generation
38%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 75.1%1,973
Other 12.0%315
Hispanic 8.0%210
International 2.1%54
Asian 1.1%30
Black 0.9%23
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Montana State University Billings. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Setting
Midsize CityBillings, Montana
Housing
Partly residential571 beds available
Adult Learners
30%of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NCAAathletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semesterscheduling structure
What You Can Study
Montana State University Billings offers
an extensive catalog of programs:
63 distinct programs across
23 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
The student-to-faculty ratio at Montana State University Billings is 14:1, close to the national average.
Student : Faculty
14:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$8,712
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$33M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$63,186
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
145 instructional faculty across 5 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Full Professors
22
15%
$91,419
Associate Professors
24
17%
$68,601
Assistant Professors
44
30%
$55,025
Instructors
7
5%
$51,045
Lecturers
48
33%
$56,791
Pros & Cons of Montana State University Billings
A quick at-a-glance summary of how Montana State University Billings tends to stack up for prospective students,weighing its data, size, setting, and cost profile together.
PROS
Below-average net price
Reasonable class sizes
CONS
Low completion rate, many students don't graduate within six years
First-year retention is below typical
Frequently Asked Questions about Montana State University Billings
Quick answers to the questions most students and parents ask. Every answer below is calculated from verified government data about Montana State University Billings.
How much does Montana State University Billings cost?
The average net price after aid at Montana State University Billings is $16,524 per year, this is what students typically pay after grants and scholarships are applied. Net price data: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Montana State University Billings worth it?
Moderate return on investment. Graduates earn a median of $44,296 ten years after entering, against an average net price of $16,524 per year. That's roughly 2.7x earnings-to-cost. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Montana State University Billings known for?
Montana State University Billings is best known for its programs in Business, Liberal Arts, Nursing. These are the most popular fields by completed degrees, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
What do Montana State University Billings graduates earn?
Median earnings 10 years after entering Montana State University Billings are $44,296, based on College Scorecard 2023-24 federal earnings data for Title IV recipients.
Is Montana State University Billings accredited?
Yes. Montana State University Billings is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
How many students attend Montana State University Billings?
Montana State University Billings enrolls 2,626 students, per IPEDS 2023-24 fall enrollment data.
What is the graduation rate at Montana State University Billings?
Montana State University Billings graduates 21% of full-time students within six years, per IPEDS 2023-24 completion data.
Is Montana State University Billings a public or private college?
Montana State University Billings is a Public institution.
Where is Montana State University Billings located?
Montana State University Billings is located in Billings, Montana.
What programs does Montana State University Billings offer?
Montana State University Billings offers 63 distinct programs. The most popular include Business, Liberal Arts, Nursing.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Montana State University Billings?
The student-to-faculty ratio at Montana State University Billings is 14:1, per IPEDS 2023-24 data.
Related Colleges in Montana
Other colleges in Montana share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,839 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Rankings That Feature Montana State University Billings
Montana State University Billings appears in these rankings, built from the same federal data and the UCD Score.
Highest-Earning Construction Colleges
The highest-earning colleges for Construction, ranked by graduate salary 10 years after entry.
$82,721 Top Earn
$52,227 Avg Earn
79 UCD Score
20 Colleges
Highest-Earning Mechanics & Repair Colleges
The highest-earning colleges for Mechanics & Repair, ranked by graduate salary 10 years after entry.
$84,131 Top Earn
$48,380 Avg Earn
77 UCD Score
36 Colleges
Highest-Earning Precision Production Colleges
The highest-earning colleges for Precision Production, ranked by graduate salary 10 years after entry.
$76,571 Top Earn
$51,087 Avg Earn
71 UCD Score
17 Colleges
Most Affordable Construction Colleges
The most affordable colleges for Construction, ranked by net price with earnings and outcomes shown.
$7,051 Lowest Net
$18,369 Avg Net
79 UCD Score
$82,721 Top Earn
Most Affordable Mechanics & Repair Colleges
The most affordable colleges for Mechanics & Repair, ranked by net price with earnings and outcomes shown.
$7,051 Lowest Net
$14,946 Avg Net
77 UCD Score
$66,099 Top Earn
Most Affordable Precision Production Colleges
The most affordable colleges for Precision Production, ranked by net price with earnings and outcomes shown.
$8,522 Lowest Net
$21,108 Avg Net
71 UCD Score
$76,571 Top Earn
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.