Montana State University in Bozeman is world renowned for academic achievement, research and special programs. See why...

In Academics:

• MSU ranks eighth in the country for universities with the most students who have received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, given for excellence in math and science. MSU students have earned 41 Goldwater awards, more than students from Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Yale and other top schools.
• The 2002 Alice T. Shafer Award was earned by Kay Kirkpatrick (a Dillon, Montana native). This honor is given to the top female math student in the nation.
• 2002 USA Today Academic All-America-First Team honors went to Phenocia Bauerle (Bozeman-English). MSU also had a third team selection, making MSU one of only two universities nationwide to receive two awards.
• There were 88 valedictorians in the freshman class in the fall of 2002.
• MSU welcomed 13 National Merit semifinalists in the fall of 2002.
• In the freshman class of 2002, 27% graduated from high school with an "A" average and 85% graduated with a "B" or better average.
• MSU students pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam at a rate of 95%. The national average is 83%.
• Our College of Business is one of 300 in the country (10%) that is nationally accredited. The College houses the Center for Entrepreneurship of the New West, designed for students from all disciplines to learn to be successful business owners and managers.
• MSU's CPA (certified public accountant) students rank #1 in the nation for CPA pass rates!
• The MSU College of Nursing is the seventh largest nursing program in the United States.
• College of Nursing graduates have a 96% pass rate on the NCLEX-RN National Registry Exam. The national average is 86%.
• MSU's Computer Science program is fully accredited--only 10% of the Computer Science programs in the country have this distinction. This means that students are in higher demand and receive better salaries.
• MSU offers the only interdisciplinary Biotechnology degree in the region.
• Since 1982, 93% of the students in Food and Nutrition have been accepted in national dietetic internships and 100% of these students have passed the registration exam for Registered Dieticians.
• MSU's Graphic Design program is the only 4-year Graphic Design program in the state.
• The School of Architecture's Community Design Center offers students the opportunity to work hands-on with design projects for local communities and the National Park Service.
• Our film school is one of the top film schools in the nation and offers the only Master's degree in Natural History Filmmaking in the country that is partially funded through the Discovery Channel.
• MSU offered the first accredited 5-year Master's of Architecture program in the nation.
• Small group freshman seminars help new students get off to a great start at MSU.
• The College of Agriculture emphasizes internships where students apply course material in hands-on environments.
• Jon Johnson, a 1978 graduate of MSU's film program, recently won an Academy Award for the Best Sound Editor for the film "U-571", a World War II submarine movie.
• Hands-on learning environments in film and architecture have brought those programs significant national recognition.
• MSU offers an interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Native American Studies, one of only a handful in the U.S. and the only one in the state.
• College of Engineering students fully utilize internship opportunities in all the engineering fields. Students earn while they learn and add impressive real-world experience to their resumes.
• MSU's Japanese Studies program combines studies on protocol, language and customs in Japan. This extremely unique program trains students who have an interest in going into business or agriculture in Japan.
• Rolling Stone Magazine voted Dr. Henrietta Mann, the first Native American Studies Endowed Chair, as one of the top ten professors in the country.
• From the MSU Libraries web page (www.lib.montana.edu), a whole world of information is available to the university community, 24 hours a day--7 days a week.
• MSU Mechanical Engineering students consistently place in the winners' circle at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers national design contests, competing against colleges from all around the world.
• Approximately $400,000 in scholarships is awarded each year to students in the College of Agriculture.
• Ryan Johnson (Fort Collins, Colo.-pre-physical therapy) was the 2001 Verizon Academic All-American Team Member of the Year in the University Division. This honor is awarded to the number one student football player in the nation. Previous winners include Drew Brees and Peyton Manning.
• MSU student-athletes have ranked first in total Academic All-Big Sky Conference selections since 1976.
• MSU is among the nation's leaders for Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowships with 16 awards in 17 years.
• MSU's Chelsea Elander (Missoula-biochemistry) earned a Rhodes Scholarship in 1999 and Jennifer DeVoe (Helena-'93 interdisciplinary studies) earned a Rhodes Scholarship in 1995 while at Harvard Medical School. Michelle Miles (Bozeman-'99 English) won the 2001 George Mitchell Scholarship, also known as the "Irish Rhodes."

• With $82 million in research expenditures for FY03, MSU is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the top 70 research universities in the country.
• More than 300 students each year participate in cutting edge research opportunities through the Undergraduate Scholarship Program. Projects range from developing experiments to be put on a satellite to original research on the history of Bozeman.
• The Biotechnology program allows undergraduate students hands-on experience in laboratories while doing research in a number of areas.
• MSU is one of five universities across the country recognized as an 'Education Partner' in the Mars Exploration program. Currently researchers are studying the thermal hot pots in Yellowstone National Park due to possible implications for life on Mars.
• The College of Agriculture's award-winning faculty includes Mark Young, whose research ranges from the use of simple proteins to locate cancer in human cells to the study of hot-pool bacteria that might be useful in cleaning up toxic waste.
• MSU students are researching avalanches in the Bridger Mountains (just 15 minutes from campus).
• Engineering students, under the supervision of Jack Horner, recently rebuilt the sinus cavity of a dinosaur as a means to create a model for how dinosaurs made sounds.
• Students are studying ecosystems in Yellowstone Park as a means to measure the impact of human induced changes on species and plant varieties.
• MSU is home of the Center for Biofilm Engineering, an internationally recognized center working to find solutions to biofilm contaminations that cause problems ranging from ear infections, tooth plaque, and infection around medical implants, to corroding pipes and environmental pollution.
• The Center for Computational Biology uses computer models to unlock the secrets of the brain.
• Loren Action (physics emeritus, former astronaut) developed MSU's internationally respected Solar Physics Research group. Acton, a 1959 MSU graduate, designed the Yohkoh satellite, which changed scientists' perceptions of the sun.
• Civil Engineering students participate in multiple undergraduate research opportunities that range from avalanche studies to water treatment to the reconstruction and protection of wetlands.
• MSU's Geographic Information and Analysis Center conducts joint government/industry/university research using a variety of geographic information system and remote sensing packages.
• MSU faculty receives more funding for research in instructional methods than any other faculty between Seattle and Minneapolis.
• MSU's Spectrum Lab conducts state-of-the-art research and development of optical electronics, which brings new technology to Montana corporations and provides enhanced educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.
• MSU's Thermal Biology Institute (TBI) takes advantage of the fact that we are located within 90 miles of Yellowstone Park and its estimated 10,000 geothermal features.
• Students and faculty, working in conjunction with the Whirling Disease Foundation have provided state and national fisheries biologists with information to help prevent the spread of this disease, which is affecting many of Montana's blue ribbon trout streams. In Job Placement:
• Over 90% of Business grads receive job offers in their option areas.
• 100% of the Computer Science graduates who seek positions in industry have employment offers prior to graduation.
• MSU is the second largest supplier of Engineering grads to Boeing, and we rank among the top sources of engineering graduates for 3M and Tektronix.
• 100% of Music Education graduates have jobs upon graduation.
• MSU students who graduate from the Teacher Preparation Program are highly competitive for job placement in the state, region and nation. In excess of 90% are placed in the location of their choosing.
• 80% of Nursing students stay in Montana after graduation.
• The Biomedical Science program has a placement rate for it's graduates of 75-90% into a medical school, and MSU has the second highest number of total students at the University of Washington's Medical School, behind the University of Washington.
• MSU has a very strong pre-dental program with virtually 100% placement into a professional dental school.
• In the past 17 years the employment rate for MSU's Architecture graduates has never dropped below 90%.
• Micron Technologies, the world's largest manufacturers of computer memory, has given the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at MSU 'Key School' program status. Only nine other universities have this status. Micron provides MSU students with scholarships, a vigorous internship program and post graduation employment.

• MSU's Residence Hall Association was recently named the top program in the nation.
• MSU music ensembles (consisting of students from a wide variety of academic majors) tour internationally, including the 2001 75th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City and was featured on the "Today" Show.
• Students living on campus at MSU have access to the fastest residential Internet connection in Montana.
• Students can choose to study at over 200 study abroad locations in 50 countries or at hundreds of institutions across the United States.
• ArtsLink introduces and immerses high school students into the arts through intensive summer workshops.
• Each fall, one-third of the entering freshman class enrolls in General Studies in order to explore their career interests as well as the variety of degree programs at MSU.
• Upper division students at MSU have advanced leadership opportunities as peer leaders with the General Studies, Business and Letters and Sciences freshman seminars.
• Over 75% of the student body at MSU is active participants in the ASMSU Intramural and Recreation program.
• In 2001 MSU's dance team was ranked 3rd in the country and our cheerleading team was ranked 10th in the country.
• MSU ranks first in the number of Academic All-American Big Sky Conference selections.

• MSU is home to the only Bio-Containment facility west of the Mississippi River (one of two in the country) for quarantining and testing insects and plant pathogens for the control of weeds and plant diseases.
• The new Engineering/Physical Sciences building provides state-of-the-art classroom facilities that incorporate the newest in computer, communications and multi-media technologies. It also houses the Center for Biofilm Engineering, one of a handful of National Engineering Research facilities in the country.
• Our Bobcat stadium is considered one of the premier facilities in the Big Sky Conference.
• MSU's Brick Breeden Fieldhouse is nationally ranked for concert activity.
• MSU's Museum of the Rockies includes a world-recognized dinosaur collection and is a leader in excavation of Lewis and Clark campsites.
• MSU is home to a world-class user facility for Computational Biological Research.
• MSU houses the best art studio facilities in the state including a fully-equipped Macintosh Computer lab, print-making studio, bronze casting facility, ceramics studio, metalsmithing studio and a new iron casting foundry.

• MSU was ranked #5 on Outside magazine's "40 Best College Towns" in 2003.
• Hot skiing on cold powder within minutes of campus: Bridger Bowl and Big Sky. With an average of 320 days of sunshine each year, Bozeman has more annual days of sun than Houston, Texas. Yes, it is even sunny in the winter.
• World-class fly-fishing on five blue-ribbon trout streams.
• Nordic skiing and visiting the two million acres of pristine beauty in Yellowstone National Park-and snowmobile on another two million next door in the Gallatin National Forest.
• Yellowstone National Park-tour the first and most diverse of all the national parks.
• Golf at one of the four courses in Bozeman and the surrounding area.
• Nationally known dinosaur exhibits and a world-class planetarium at the Museum of the Rockies on the MSU campus.
• Hyalite Canyon, featuring hiking, camping, fishing and splendid mountain views, just seven miles from campus.
• Shakespeare in the Parks, Bozeman's own touring theatre group, performs across Montana throughout the summer months.
• Backcountry exploration with one of many licensed guides and outfitters.
• The annual Sweet Pea Festival, offering a full week of art, music, dance and flowers, following a week of adjunct competitive sports and social activities.
• Local biking trails offering spectacular views and a challenge of all levels.
• The annual Christmas Stroll, when downtown Bozeman is "decked out" for the holidays and the streets are closed for celebration and cheer.
• Dude ranches, resorts, and hot spring featuring the many beauties of Montana.
• Arts and cultural opportunities with the Bozeman Symphony, Bozeman Intermountain Opera, Montana Ballet Company and the Vigilante Theatre Company.
• A great variety of restaurants and coffee shops to satisfy the taste buds.
• The Emerson Cultural Center provides the Bozeman community with art galleries, artists' studios and a variety of musical performances, along with Lunch in the Park during the summer months.
• Bozeman is ranked nationally as the Best College Town in a western small city by www.ePodunk.com. EPodunk states, "Bozeman is that rare combination of outdoor resort and cultural hub, with nearby ski resorts, a symphony and a cultural arts center."

• "Bozeman is Montana's ultimate outdoor town."
• "Bozeman, Montana: part college town, part cow town, and all adventure, with access to some of the finest fly-fishing, hiking, rafting and skiing in America."
• "Equal parts latte-lapping, Oakley-shaded university town and tenacious, cowpoke nexus, Bozeman, Montana, sits at the center of a picture-book American land-scape: a Western town, plugged into a golden valley rimmed by peaks dusted with snow. Head any direction out of town and year-round adventure awaits."

Return to regular view	Text-only	Updated: 03/06/08