Montana Western ranked best university in Montana.

July 14, 2016

Money determined which of the country’s roughly 2,000 four-year colleges and universities deliver a great education at an affordable price and help students launch promising careers. In its third year, the Money Magazine 2016-17 national report ranked colleges and universities from 48 states and Washington D.C.

“We are thrilled to have been ranked as the best college in Montana,” Chancellor Beth Weatherby said. “The ranking is directly attributed to the success of Experience One. Our students are realizing remarkable success and people are taking notice of our unique approach to education.”  

Montana Western joins Princeton, Auburn and Duke as among the nation’s best universities.

The ranking listed Montana Western’s one-of-a-kind Experience One (X1) program among their findings. X1 is Montana Western’s innovative block scheduling program where students take a single class at a time, three hours each day for 18 days before moving on to the next. UMW is the only U.S. public four-year university offering block scheduling.   

Money Magazine pointed out that Montana Western offers the nation’s only four-year degree in natural horsemanship. The program uses an innovative experiential approach to working with horses, turning a student’s passion for horses into a successful career.  

The report touted the affordable tuition, small class sizes and location of Montana Western as additional reasons why UMW is the best college in Montana.

Along with Experience One, Montana Western maintains small class sizes, boasting a 17:1 student/professor ratio. 

Montana Western has experienced tremendous growth under Experience One, including the following measures of success:

•      UMW’s enrollment has increased by 36 percent from 2003 to 2015, outpacing all other four-year      campuses in Montana.
•      In fall 2015 we admitted our largest entering class in our 120-year history.
•      In spring 2016 we awarded the largest number of degrees in the university’s history.
•      University degrees awarded increased by 135 percent in the last 10 years leading all Montana      University System institutions.

The ranking took into account the remarkable location of Montana Western as a factor for its distinction. UMW is located within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and is surrounded on three sides by the Continental Divide and seven mountain ranges.    

— MONTANA WESTERN —