Which Montana State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Agricultural Business graduates leave with a median of $20,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 33 Montana State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Montana State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,460 a year, and $33,287 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $22,499 a year.

How many Montana State programs report graduate pay?

35 bachelor's programs and 2 associate's programs at Montana State report first-year pay, and 35 of them also report federal debt.

Montana State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Montana State University
Public university
Bozeman, MT
14,451 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

35 Montana State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Construction Engineering Technology pays the most in the first year ($77,139), and Sustainability Studies the least ($22,296). The median program pays $36,745. Montana State also has 2 associate's programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$8,460Per year. Out-of-state $33,287

Average net price after aid$22,499Per year

Graduation rate57%Within 6 years

Admission rate82%Of applicants

All 35 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Montana" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Montana. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Montana
1	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 38 graduates a year	$77,139	$89,788	$27,044	1st of 1
2	Electrical EngineeringAbout 32 graduates a year	$77,060	$92,667	$20,995	1st of 1
3	NursingAbout 284 graduates a year	$71,915	$72,739	$28,000	5th of 6
4	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 171 graduates a year	$68,469	$92,132	$25,011	2nd of 2
5	Civil EngineeringAbout 73 graduates a year	$67,373	$76,388	$21,031	2nd of 2
6	Computer EngineeringAbout 14 graduates a year	$67,015	Not reported	$30,500	1st of 1
7	Computer ScienceAbout 102 graduates a year	$66,918	$126,082	$22,500	1st of 1
8	Industrial EngineeringAbout 25 graduates a year	$64,082	Not reported	$26,000	1st of 1
9	Mechanical Engineering TechnologyAbout 39 graduates a year	$62,605	$81,914	$27,500	1st of 1
10	Chemical EngineeringAbout 70 graduates a year	$62,206	$82,446	$25,130	1st of 1
11	Agricultural BusinessAbout 29 graduates a year	$50,876	$53,351	$20,000	1st of 1
12	BusinessAbout 291 graduates a year	$48,164	$68,260	$23,000	1st of 3
13	EconomicsAbout 22 graduates a year	$47,098	$58,698	$25,500	1st of 1
14	MusicAbout 10 graduates a year	$38,807	$46,471	Not reported	1st of 1
15	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 43 graduates a year	$38,576	$49,990	$24,000	2nd of 4
16	Teacher EducationAbout 76 graduates a year	$37,501	$44,136	$26,000	2nd of 5
17	MicrobiologyAbout 56 graduates a year	$37,181	$63,350	$22,065	1st of 1
18	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 34 graduates a year	$36,745	$60,659	$27,040	1st of 2
19	SociologyAbout 42 graduates a year	$36,595	$46,595	$22,250	2nd of 2
20	Political ScienceAbout 36 graduates a year	$35,476	$57,263	$20,540	2nd of 2
21	MathematicsAbout 30 graduates a year	$34,475	$70,536	$24,000	1st of 1
22	EnglishAbout 56 graduates a year	$33,483	$43,101	$20,472	1st of 2
23	Linguistics and Language StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$33,415	Not reported	$23,250	1st of 1
24	Plant ScienceAbout 16 graduates a year	$33,311	$46,106	$20,500	1st of 1
25	Cell Biology and AnatomyAbout 60 graduates a year	$32,538	$69,621	$23,625	1st of 1
26	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 47 graduates a year	$32,265	$45,808	$26,000	1st of 2
27	Family and Consumer SciencesAbout 145 graduates a year	$31,910	$46,144	$25,000	1st of 1
28	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 48 graduates a year	$30,380	$44,105	$27,036	1st of 2
29	Animal ScienceAbout 49 graduates a year	$30,220	$42,414	$24,034	1st of 1
30	HistoryAbout 35 graduates a year	$29,692	$45,865	$22,500	1st of 2
31	Film and PhotographyAbout 65 graduates a year	$29,608	$41,239	$24,495	1st of 2
32	BiologyAbout 100 graduates a year	$29,435	$44,208	$24,750	3rd of 4
33	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 39 graduates a year	$29,030	$50,960	$22,250	1st of 1
34	PsychologyAbout 140 graduates a year	$28,928	$46,443	$22,977	2nd of 3
35	Sustainability StudiesAbout 19 graduates a year	$22,296	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and Montana ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Montana programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Both associate's programs

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Montana" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Montana.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Montana
Design and Applied ArtsAbout 20 graduates a year	$36,931	Not reported	$18,880	1st of 1
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 63 graduates a year	$33,040	Not reported	$11,500	1st of 5

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Construction Engineering Technology$77,139
Electrical Engineering$77,060
Nursing$71,915
Mechanical Engineering$68,469
Civil Engineering$67,373

Lowest median debt

Agricultural Business$20,000
English$20,472
Plant Science$20,500
Political Science$20,540
Electrical Engineering$20,995

Largest programs

BusinessAbout 291 graduates a year
NursingAbout 284 graduates a year
Mechanical EngineeringAbout 171 graduates a year
Family and Consumer SciencesAbout 145 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 140 graduates a year

Common questions

Construction Engineering Technology graduates earn a median of $77,139 in their first year, the most of 35 Montana State bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Montana rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels