University profileBozeman, MTFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does Montana State University get?
Montana State University received $159.6 million in federal awards in FY2025, 118th of 998 institutions (top 12%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $159.6 million to Montana State University (Bozeman, MT), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 118th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of Montana State University.
| Washington State University (Pullman) #115 · WA | $163M |
| University of Texas at Arlington #116 · TX | $162M |
| Mississippi State University #117 · MS | $160M |
| Montana State University #118 · MT | $160M |
| Medical University of South Carolina #119 · SC | $159M |
| Georgia State University #120 · GA | $159M |
| Harvard University (Boston) #121 · MA | $156M |
What the money is
That is down 11.5% from FY2024 ($180.4 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 66.3%. The largest share came as grants ($77.0 million, 48.2%). The Department of Defense was the biggest funder ($83.0 million). Its largest programs were Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program ($60.8 million); Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education ($10.8 million); Biomedical Research and Research Training ($9.2 million). It ranks 118th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY (UEI EJ3UF7TK8RT5). Money that reaches it as a subaward through another organization is not included. Separately incorporated foundations, hospitals and laboratories have their own records and are not added in. Grouping rules are explained in the methodology.
Federal awards by year
Montana State University: $160M in FY2025, up 66% on FY2019
Federal award obligations by fiscal year and type, FY2018–FY2026, nominal dollars. FY26* is preliminary and still filling in.
- Insurance and other
- Loans (subsidy cost)
- Direct payments
- Grants
- Contracts
View every year as a table
| Fiscal year | Contracts | Grants | Direct payments | Loans | Insurance and other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | $5.8M | $74.4M | $0 | $0 | $3.1M | $83.2M |
| FY2019 | $1.1M | $72.0M | $0 | $0 | $22.8M | $96.0M |
| FY2020 | $6.8M | $106.9M | $0 | $0 | $22.2M | $135.9M |
| FY2021 | $9.7M | $160.1M | $0 | $0 | $19.9M | $189.7M |
| FY2022 | $4.7M | $90.0M | $6.2M | $0 | $34.0M | $134.9M |
| FY2023 | $9.4M | $97.3M | $13.3M | $0 | $85.0M | $205.2M |
| FY2024 | $11.4M | $119.5M | $507,094 | $0 | $49.0M | $180.4M |
| FY2025 | $21.7M | $77.0M | $75,000 | $0 | $60.9M | $159.6M |
| FY2026* | $721,161 | $74.2M | $3.4M | $0 | $77.8M | $156.1M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to Montana State University, and the largest federal programs. Programs are federal Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA numbers); contracts have no listing number, so they do not appear there.
Top awarding agencies
| Agency | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | $83.0 million | 52.0% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $25.1 million | 15.7% |
| Department of Agriculture | $18.9 million | 11.8% |
| National Science Foundation | $8.8 million | 5.5% |
| Department of Transportation | $8.8 million | 5.5% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $4.8 million | 3.0% |
| Department of Commerce | $3.9 million | 2.5% |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $3.8 million | 2.4% |
| Department of the Interior | $1.7 million | 1.0% |
| Department of Energy | $628,177 | 0.4% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program Assistance Listing 12.800 | $60.8 million | 38.1% |
| Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Assistance Listing 10.215 | $10.8 million | 6.8% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $9.2 million | 5.7% |
| Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Assistance Listing 20.325 | $6.4 million | 4.0% |
| Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Assistance Listing 93.307 | $4.1 million | 2.6% |
| Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs Assistance Listing 11.039 | $3.1 million | 1.9% |
| Smith-Lever Extension Funding Assistance Listing 10.511 | $3.0 million | 1.9% |
| Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Training and Special Purpose Activities Relating to Environmental Justice Assistance Listing 66.309 | $3.0 million | 1.9% |
| Payments to Agricultural Experiment Stations Under the Hatch Act Assistance Listing 10.203 | $2.9 million | 1.8% |
| Science Assistance Listing 43.001 | $2.8 million | 1.8% |
Other institutions in Montana
All institutions in MontanaQuestions and answers
- How much federal funding does Montana State University receive?
- $159.6 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does Montana State University's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Defense ($83.0 million, 52.0%). By type, grants were $77.0 million and contracts $21.7 million.
- Did Montana State University's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $159.6 million; FY2024: $180.4 million (-11.5%).
Sources and notes
- USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), API endpoints spending_over_time and spending_by_category, filtered by recipient ID(s) afdb5528-e0ac-3206-584e-b3140fd75926-C, fiscal years 2018–2026. Amounts are obligations in nominal dollars. Data retrieved 2026-10-04. Public domain.
- How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.