There are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which grad school to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges in Montana ranking is part of that endeavor.
We analyzed 6 grad schools across Montana to determine which have the best master's degree programs. Our ranking for the best grad schools is based on objective factors. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. The following gives more info on what goes into our ranking factors and why we consider those factors.
Better Early-Career Average Salaries
The average early-career salary of those graduating with a master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. While master's degree recipients from schools in Montana earn an average starting salary of $52,873, those from the top 6 school on this list made an average of $62,776.
Starting Salary ( 22647 to 75428 )
Student Loan Borrowing
Another factor that we look at to determine a school's ranking is the average debt load that graduate students take on while they are working on their master's degree.
The average amount taken out in student loans for graduates at a particular school may be crippling for those who earn less than average wages after graduation.
Additional Ranking Factors We Use
Our Best Master's Degree Schools considers other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt.
These factors include things like the educational resources, the demand associated with the school, whether or not the school offers online classes, and the student body caliber - just to name a few.
Are you more interested in the top master's degree schools in your area? Try narrowing this list by location. Also, you may want to check out our other college rankings.
Our 2024 rankings named Montana Technological University the best grad school in Montana in terms of overall quality for students working on their master’s degree. Montana Tech is a public institution located in Butte, Montana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 80 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Montana Tech make an average of $107,850 a year.
Out of the 6 master’s degree schools in Montana that were part of this year’s ranking, Montana State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Montana State University is a fairly large public school located in Bozeman, Montana that handed out 408 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $50,785 during the early years of their career.
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Providence helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Montana. University of Providence is a small private not-for-profit school located in Great Falls, Montana that handed out 51 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from University of Providence make an average of $46,201 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rocky Mountain College. The school came in at #4 in Montana on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. Rocky is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Billings, Montana. It awarded 55 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Rocky go into careers with an average salary of $82,161 during the early years of their career.
The excellent master’s degree programs at The University of Montana helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Montana. Missoula, Montana is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 465 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from UM go into careers with an average salary of $47,292 during the early years of their career.
Montana State University - Billings landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Montana ranking. Located in Billings, Montana, the small public school awarded 104 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Montana State University - Billings is $42,366 during the early years of their career.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
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