Montana State University’s research spending crossed $300 million for the first time last fiscal year, the university reported Oct. 10.
Expenditures in 2025-26 totaled $308.7 million, according to MSU’s annual report to the National Science Foundation, up about 7% from $288.7 million the year before. The university said it is still the only campus in the state over that mark, and that its research enterprise is now larger than all other public and private universities in Montana combined. A campus report prepared for the Board of Regents later rounded the figure to “topped $308 million.”
The money supported work by 1,348 students. Faculty submitted 806 funding proposals, 10% more than the prior year, and 455 new awards came in totaling $136.6 million. Nearly $14.2 million of the year’s spending backed research by 623 graduate students and 725 undergraduates. Competitively awarded federal funds accounted for 91.3% of the total, from agencies including the Defense Department, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and NASA.
“MSU is a true talent engine for Montana and the nation,” President Brock Tessman said. “The research we do here not only directly benefits the people and communities of Montana but also gives our students hands-on learning opportunities that lead them into careers after graduation.”
Vice President for Research and Economic Development Alison Harmon pointed to “significant uncertainty in the federal funding landscape” and credited faculty, students and staff with “remarkable resilience and perseverance.” The university said it acquired $53 million in new research equipment during the year, including $5.7 million for QCORE, its quantum computing facility, a $1.6 million electron-beam lithography system at the Montana Microfabrication Facility, and a $1.1 million X-ray photoelectron spectrometer for the Imaging and Chemical Analysis Laboratory.
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