Best Online Colleges in Montana
for 2023

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Recently, the unemployment rate stood at 3.0%. However, it fell in the beginning of 2022 and the employment numbers rose from a low of 553.7 million people employed. No matter where those numbers end up, every year students consider whether or not they should attend college at the associate or bachelor’s level, or if they should just step directly into the workforce.

If you’re considering attending college in Montana during an upcoming school year, then you’re in the right place. There are plenty of educational options from all over the country if you are willing to move or attend through distance learning. However, those degrees offered in Montana are specifically designed to help you get into the workforce in your own home state. With connections to local businesses and knowledge of the local economy, this can make all the difference.


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Online Higher Education in Montana


The average tuition and fees charged by colleges and universities in the state are $5,377 for in-state students and $11,504 for out-of-state students. As for graduate programs, tuition and fees are $22,570 at the lowest and $31,335 at the highest.

Students living in Montana qualify for in-state tuition, but students may also pay a lesser amount if they qualify for participation in the Western Undergraduate Exchange program. This is a regional program meant to help students save money when they attend college within any other state participating in the program. The program includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, some US Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington.

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The average cost of attendance at a Montana college is about $20,776 for in-state students and $26,902 for out-of-state students. The cost of attendance includes tuition, books, supplies, room and board, and other expenses of living. Graduate students’ costs are around $22,250 in-state and $36,900 if attending from out-of-state.

As for the total Montana student population, there are 450,687 students all together. Undergraduate students number 39,815 and graduate students 5,872.

Schools in the state enrolled 6,411 students who are in online classes only in a recent year. For students taking a mix of online and on-campus classes, their numbers were 23,259. This was out of 45,687 students total. Colleges reported 26,849 students in online classes, with 2,821 students taking at least one graduate course online.

Looking at attendance status, colleges in Montana reported a total of 31,630 full-time students. They also reported that 14,057 students were attending on a part-time basis.

Our School Rankings Methodology


Ranking colleges is a serious process. We rank online colleges according to several criteria which most online universities and colleges maintain annually. And, while numbers and percentages are objective and quantitative, other categories can be more subjective. We can’t decide if you want to attend a school with very small classes so you can get plenty of professor interaction or larger classes so you can have more chance for debate and friendships, but we can tell you what the student-to-teacher ratio is.

Factors used include admission, retention, and graduation rates, graduating salaries coming from alumni surveys, and many more. The cost of tuition has also become more and more important over the years, with tuition rising nearly every year. Data are collected from government websites linked to the Department of Education and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provides data on the outlook of hundreds of industries and occupations such as business, psychology, engineering, and others.

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What are the Best Online Associate & Community College Programs in Montana?


Prospective students looking for online learning should carry out the same careful research as students who plan on attending courses on campus. Students will have some options when it comes to finding online colleges in Montana. These may be campuses with a physical presence, offering distance education to students who find they have to be online learners, or online-only schools that don’t even have physical classrooms. The education an online college offers is the same high quality as that offered to on-campus students, and usually results in the same outcomes for students who have the focus to make sure they stick to it and get their work done on time.

Miles Community College
College Type
2-year, Public
Student Population
567
Graduation Rate
45%
Net Price
$8,329
Grads Salary
$38,200
Montana State University-Northern
College Type
4-year, primarily associate's, Public
Student Population
1,024
Graduation Rate
35%
Net Price
$11,851
Grads Salary
$42,400
Dawson Community College
College Type
2-year, Public
Student Population
377
Graduation Rate
35%
Net Price
$10,495
Grads Salary
$34,700
Flathead Valley Community College
College Type
2-year, Public
Student Population
2,406
Graduation Rate
30%
Net Price
$8,947
Grads Salary
$32,100
Great Falls College Montana State University
College Type
2-year, Public
Student Population
1,218
Graduation Rate
18%
Net Price
$8,793
Grads Salary
$34,100

What are the Best Online Universities & College Programs in Montana?


Students often have several reasons for having to choose online programs. They may have family or work obligations they can’t change or they may not be able to find the degree program they need in their state. We ranked the best online colleges by reviewing hundreds of college programs. Every school is been fully accredited and offers students everything they need to succeed. However, it’s up to you to decide which one is the right one.

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Montana Technological University
College Type
4-year, Public
Student Population
1,714
Graduation Rate
57%
Net Price
$14,618
Grads Salary
$80,000
The University of Montana-Western
College Type
4-year, Public
Student Population
1,334
Graduation Rate
47%
Net Price
$11,679
Grads Salary
$60,000
Montana State University-Northern
College Type
4-year, primarily associate's, Public
Student Population
1,024
Graduation Rate
35%
Net Price
$11,851
Grads Salary
$72,000
Rocky Mountain College
College Type
4-year, Private not-for-profit
Student Population
1,014
Graduation Rate
53%
Net Price
$20,615
Grads Salary
$67,000
The University of Montana
College Type
4-year, Public
Student Population
9,808
Graduation Rate
44%
Net Price
$15,220
Grads Salary
$64,000
Montana State University Billings
College Type
4-year, Public
Student Population
4,000
Graduation Rate
28%
Net Price
$12,025
Grads Salary
$66,000
University of Providence
College Type
4-year, Private not-for-profit
Student Population
1,005
Graduation Rate
38%
Net Price
$25,023
Grads Salary
$62,000

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