“Since 1893, the university has educated thousands of students and helped improve the lives of many generations of Montanans. This is a good story to tell and an enormous accomplishment that deserves a joyous celebration.”

- MSU President Waded Cruzado

Then ...

Montana State University campus in 1893

On February 16, 1893, the Agricultural College of the State of Montana was founded as the state's land-grant college. Renamed The Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, the institution was popularly known as Montana Agricultural College, or MAC. By the 1920s, the institution's preferred name was Montana State College and so it remained until July 1, 1965, when, in recognition of the enormous advances in the College's commitment to scientific and humanistic research, the thirty-ninth legislative assembly of the state of Montana changed MSC's name to Montana State University.

... and Now

2020 Montana State University campus aerial

Today, Montana State University boasts a national and international reputation for its excellence in education as well as research. It is routinely listed as a top university in terms of degree quality, value, and location, and ranks among the nation's leaders in its number of Goldwater Scholarship recipients. It is an institution committed to serving Montana and beyond by positioning today's students for meaningful lives in the globalizing economy of the 21st century.