Montana State University

Montana State University - Bozeman (MSU) is a public university located in Bozeman, Montana. It is the main campus in the Montana State University System. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 51 fields, master's degrees in 41 fields, and doctoral degrees in 18 fields through its nine colleges.

Over 12,000 students attend MSU, and the university faculty numbers approximately 700 full-time and 300 part-time. The university's main campus in Bozeman is also home to KUSM and the Museum of the Rockies. MSU provides outreach services to citizens and communities statewide through its eight Agricultural Experiment Stations and 60 county and reservation Extension Offices.

History

Distinguishing facts

MSU is the national leader for Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowships and is among the top ten institutions in the country for recipients of Goldwater Scholarships. The university counts among its graduates several Rhodes and Truman scholars, and MSU has consistently produced winners of USA Today Academic All-America honors. U.S. News and World Report has routinely listed MSU as one of America's "best buys" for undergraduate education, and ranks it in the third tier of National Universities. Montana State University offers the world's only Master of Fine Arts degree in Science and Natural History Filmmaking, and MSU's Museum of the Rockies is home to the largest T. Rex skull ever found--bigger, even, than "Sue" at the Chicago Field Museum.

Athletics

MSU athletic teams are nicknamed the Bobcats, and they participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Big Sky Conference, of which Montana State University is a charter member. Originally playing as the Aggies, men's teams compete in football, basketball, track, cross-country, skiing, and tennis. Women's teams include volleyball, basketball, track, cross-country, tennis, golf, and skiing.

The football team plays out of the 15,000-seat Bobcat Stadium. The school maintains a century-old rivalry with the University of Montana Grizzlies, the annual football game of which is nicknamed the "Brawl of the Wild" (also known as the Cat-Griz). The school has won several national championships in men's rodeo.

The university has recently come under fire from several arrests and scandals associated with the college and athletics program. Recently, an assistant football coach was arrested and convicted on federal charges of dealing methamphetamine. Eight freshmen students were arrested in a raid on campus and were charged with dealing drugs ranging from marijuana to ecstasy, mushrooms and cocaine. Two former athletes were also arrested in July in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a Livingston man suspected of dealing cocaine. The man's body was found on MSU property, and the murder weapon was allegedly found in the locker of a basketball player on campus.

Colleges

Notable alumni

Kevin Donovan - film director
Jon Johnson - film sound editor
Craig Kilborn - talk show host and actor
David S. Lee - Chairman of the Board, eOn Communications Corporation, and Regent, University of California
Alex Lowe - prior to his death in October, 1999, considered by many to be the world’s best climber
Brian Schweitzer - Governor of Montana
Mary Schweitzer - North Carolina State University paleontologist, first to discover soft tissues in a dinosaur bone
Jan Stenerud - NFL Hall of Fame kicker
Sarah Vowell - writer and journalist with PRI's This American Life

Points of interest

External links

Montana State University System

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Montana State University - Bozeman