Dear Friends,

Welcome to Montana State University, and thank you for your interest in Montana's first land-grant university. MSU was founded in 1893, and we take pride here in our historic tri-partite mission of excellence in teaching and learning, research and creativity, and service and outreach.

Our one university has four campuses, seven agricultural centers, one world-class museum, and Extension offices that serve each of Montana's 56 counties, making the entire state of Montana our campus.

We are proud of our undergraduate programs, which provide hands-on research and creative experiences for our students, and our graduate programs, which feature all of the elements of a student-centered institution. Our service and outreach programs are designed to enhance the lives of all Montanans, and MSU's researchers make discoveries every day that have the potential to improve our world. Prolific research also has resulted in many discoveries that stimulate economic growth. MSU has more than 182 active technology licenses, 104 of which are with Montana companies, and 110 patents have been issued for MSU discoveries.

Others recognize our worth. MSU is ranked as one of the top 108 universities in the nation with very high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, with our annual research expenditures averaging around $100 million. This top tier classification--out of more than 4,600 institutions--recognizes the significant opportunities for research, scholarship and creative work at MSU. We also continue to be the university of choice for many of the state’s best and brightest high school graduates: this year, 127 of 211 Montana high school graduates offered Montana University System Honor Scholarships, or 60 percent, chose MSU.

I invite you to explore these Web pages to learn more about Montana State University and to join me in working together to further its mission. Together, we will continue to transform our state, nation and world.

With warm regards,

Waded Cruzado
Waded Cruzado
President