On February 16, 1893, the Montana legislature passed an act creating the Agricultural College of the State of Montana, to be located at Bozeman. The newly established college began instruction on April 17 for a 10 week summer term. Eight students, five men and three women, enrolled for the first session. During the first year, 46 students were enrolled in the college--15 in agriculture, 14 in household economy, 5 in applied science, and 12 undeclared.

Growth was slow in the college's early years. Enrollment exceeded 100 in 1905, with 110 students. Growth later in the decade was slowed by US participation in World War I and the influenza epidemic, but the college grew at a fairly steady pace from 1919 to 1931. The dust bowl and depression slowed growth only slightly; students came to school because they could not find jobs. However, the college suffered severe budget cuts during that period, in part because there were few jobs for college graduates.

Enrollment peaked again in 1941 at 1,732, only to drop sharply when the US entered World War II. By 1943, enrollment was down to 938. The end of the war saw a dramatic increase in enrollment, with 3,121 students entering the college in 1946. Enrollment returned to levels just under 2,000 during the years of the Korean conflict, but growth began at a rapid pace in 1954. By 1965 the college had become a university, and baby boomers flocked to campus. After a slight enrollment dip in the early 1970s, growth continued until enrollment peaked at 11,447 in fall of 1983. Enrollment dropped for four years, to 9,878 in fall of 1987 and then began to rise. By fall of 2006, 12,338 students were enrolled at MSU-Bozeman--a new headcount enrollment record for the campus.

1893-1917			1918-1942			1943-1967			1968-1992			1993-2003
Fall	Count		Fall	Count		Fall	Count		Fall	Count		Fall	Count
1893	46		1918	330		1943	938		1968	7,274		1993	10,798
1894	44		1919	519		1944	971		1969	7,718		1994	10,962
1895	43		1920	607		1945	1,260		1970	8,187		1995	11,267
1896	50		1921	717		1946	3,121		1971	8,113		1996	11,611
1897	36		1922	747		1947	3,165		1972	7,898		1997	11,662
1898	46		1923	728		1948	3,030		1973	8,025		1998	11,746
1899	53		1924	814		1949	2,771		1974	8,425		1999	11,753
1900	77		1925	850		1950	2,315		1975	8,971		2000	11,761
1901	72		1926	845		1951	1,970		1976	9,340		2001	11,745
1902	57		1927	909		1952	1,951		1977	9,802		2002	11,934
1903	69		1928	1,000		1953	1,993		1978	9,920		2003	12,135
1904	76		1929	1,104		1954	2,316		1979	10,109		2004	12,003
1905	110		1930	1,116		1955	2,799		1980	10,745		2005	12,250
1906	136		1931	1,131		1956	3,175		1981	11,187		2006	12,338
1907	164		1932	988		1957	3,568		1982	11,233		2007	12,170
1908	183		1933	969		1958	3,843		1983	11,447
1909	196		1934	1,085		1959	3,866		1984	11,035
1910	167		1935	1,186		1960	3,935		1985	10,710
1911	208		1936	1,268		1961	4,320		1986	10,233
1912	196		1937	1,243		1962	4,649		1987	9,878
1913	206		1938	1,567		1963	4,779		1988	10,024
1914	259		1939	1,706		1964	5,255		1989	10,251
1915	297		1940	1,709		1965	5,935		1990	10,392
1916	354		1941	1,732		1966	6,320		1991	10,111
1917	347		1942	1,480		1967	6,819		1992	10,540

Updated October 26, 2006

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