Montana State University recently earned the 325th spot on Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” list, the highest rank of a public institution in Montana. MSU also ranked higher than many of its peer universities in the West, including Washington State University, Utah State University, Oregon State University and the University of Idaho. The Forbes rankings are based on several factors, including student satisfaction, post-graduate success, student debt levels and graduation rates, according to the publication. Forbes partnered with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for College Affordability and Productivity to produce the list of 650 schools. More information, and the full list, is available at forbes.com/top-colleges/.
With an enrollment of more than 15,000 students, MSU offers more than 225 academic options within its colleges and programs. MSU is also designated as one of 108 U.S. universities–out of 4,600 institutions–with very high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Of those 108, only 51–including MSU–are also classified by Carnegie as having significant commitment to community engagement. And of those, MSU is the only institution whose Carnegie enrollment profile is “very high undergraduate.” •