Recipients › Montana › Montana State University
Recipient organisation · UEI EJ3UF7TK8RT5
Montana State University
USAspending caveat. Figures are obligations reported by federal agencies to USAspending.gov, not payments. In USAspending's words: "An outlay occurs when federal money is actually paid out, not just promised to be paid ('obligated')." "Every agency has a Senior Accountable Official who must officially certify that the quarterly financial data submitted by their agency is accurate and complete." "If there are any discrepancies in procurement data, FPDS is the authoritative source." Contract data for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is published with a 90-day delay. Data loaded 30 Sep 2026. View the USAspending recipient profile.
Montana State University, of Bozeman, MT, was obligated $671M in federal awards across the 4 fiscal years in which it reached the $1.0M listing floor (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026).
In FY2026, the most recent complete fiscal year, obligations were $126M, with contracts under the listing floor.
That is down 21% on FY2025 ($160M).
Montana State University ranks 11 of 207 listed organisations located in MT by five-year obligations, and 1,173 of 30,000 nationally.
Its $1.0M-plus awards since FY2023 came from Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation and 5 other agencies: 50 awards worth $244M in total award value.
Its largest contract industry is NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)), where it ranks 480 of 1,463 organisations by the value of $1.0M-plus awards.
Obligations by fiscal year contracts vs assistance
| Fiscal year | All obligations | Contracts | Assistance | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | $205,178,662 | $9,446,978 | $195,731,684 | — |
| FY2024 | $180,353,887 | $11,364,176 | $168,989,711 | -12% |
| FY2025 | $159,608,372 | $21,662,669 | $137,945,703 | -12% |
| FY2026 | $126,220,196 | under $1.0M | $126,220,196 | -21% |
| FY2027 to date | under $1.0M | — | — | — |
A fiscal year runs 1 October to 30 September. "Contracts" are procurement award types A–D; "assistance" is everything else (grants, direct payments, loan subsidy cost, insurance, other). The contracts column is listed only where contract obligations alone reached $1.0M; the assistance figure is the remainder and may therefore include up to $1.0M of contracts.
Compared with its state and the largest recipients five listed years
| Measure | This organisation | Largest in MT | Largest nationally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five-year obligations (listed years) | $671M | $9.4B | $416B |
| FY2026 obligations | $126M | $2.6B | $118B |
| Contracts, five years | $42M | under $1.0M | $94B |
| Assistance, five years | $629M | $9.4B | $416B |
| Rank by five-year obligations | 1,173 of 30,000 | 1 of 207 in MT | 1 |
Largest in state: State of Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Largest nationally: Health Care Services, California Department of. Rankings count organisations located in the state, by the sum of their listed fiscal years.
Awarding agencies $1.0M+ awards since FY2023
| # | Agency | Awards | Award value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Defense | 6 | $94M | 38% |
| 2 | Department of Agriculture | 13 | $61M | 25% |
| 3 | National Science Foundation | 12 | $42M | 17% |
| 4 | Department of Health and Human Services | 12 | $22M | 9% |
| 5 | Department of Transportation | 2 | $8.8M | 4% |
| 6 | Environmental Protection Agency | 1 | $7.0M | 3% |
| 7 | Department of Commerce | 2 | $6.1M | 3% |
| 8 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 2 | $3.3M | 1% |
Contract industries NAICS
Rank within NAICS 541715: 480 of 1,463 organisations by $1.0M+ award value; see Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).
Assistance programs listings
Places of performance $1.0M+ awards
Counties: Gallatin County, MT $132M
Largest awards begun since FY2023
| Awarding agency | Type | Industry or program | Award value | Begun | Place | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | Other assistanceOther Reimbursable, Contingent, Intangible, or Indirect Financial Assistance | 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program | $33M | 18 May 2023 | — | USAspending |
| Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | GrantProject Grant (B) | 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program | $27M | 15 Dec 2023 | — | USAspending |
| National Science Foundation | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | 47.083 Integrative Activities | $16M | 5 May 2023 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | ContractDefinitive Contract | 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | $16M | 31 Jul 2025 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and Agriculture | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | 10.215 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education | $11M | 23 Mar 2023 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and Agriculture | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | 10.215 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education | $11M | 19 Sep 2025 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and Agriculture | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | 10.215 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education | $11M | 31 Jul 2024 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | Other assistanceOther Reimbursable, Contingent, Intangible, or Indirect Financial Assistance | 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program | $9.9M | 9 Dec 2022 | — | USAspending |
| Environmental Protection Agency | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | 66.309 Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Training and Special Purpose Activities Relating to Environmental Justice | $7.0M | 14 Jun 2024 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of TransportationFederal Railroad Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | 20.325 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements | $6.4M | 22 Sep 2025 | — | USAspending |
| National Science Foundation | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | 47.050 Geosciences | $6.3M | 15 Sep 2023 | MT | USAspending |
| Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and Agriculture | GrantProject Grant (B) | 10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (afri) | $6.2M | 14 Sep 2026 | MT | USAspending |
Award value is the amount obligated to the award to date as USAspending reports it. Descriptions below are USAspending's text, unedited and truncated; those that appear to name a person are withheld.
- $33M, Department of Defense, 18 May 2023: TECHLINK 3 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NATIONAL PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
- $27M, Department of Defense, 15 Dec 2023: APPLIED QUANTUM CAPACITY AND OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE AND REGIONAL EQUITY (CORE)
- $16M, National Science Foundation, 5 May 2023: RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: RII TRACK 1: INTEGRATING MONTANA'S ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH WITH SMART SENSORS (IMERSS) -PRESCRIBED FIRE IS INCREASINGLY BEING EMPLOYED A
- $16M, Department of Defense, 31 Jul 2025: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EFFORT WILL EXPAND THE CAPABILITIES OF APPLIED QUANTUM CAPACITY AND OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE AND REGIONAL EQUITY (Q-CORE) TEST-BED FACILITY
- $11M, Department of Agriculture, 23 Mar 2023: ** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRA
- $11M, Department of Agriculture, 19 Sep 2025: FOR MORE THAN 35 YEARS, WESTERN SARE (WSARE) HAS ADVANCED INNOVATIONS THAT IMPROVE PROFITABILITY, STEWARDSHIP, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. BY F
- $11M, Department of Agriculture, 31 Jul 2024: ** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRA
- $9.9M, Department of Defense, 9 Dec 2022: MILTECH3 - COLLABORATIVE PROJECT ORDER (CPO) 2 CORE CAPABILITIES
Questions and answers
How much federal money does Montana State University receive?
$671M in award obligations over the fiscal years it is listed for (FY2023: $205M; FY2024: $180M; FY2025: $160M; FY2026: $126M). Years not listed were under the $1.0M floor. Obligations are binding commitments, not payments made.
Which agencies award to Montana State University?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Department of Defense ($94M), Department of Agriculture ($61M), National Science Foundation ($42M), Department of Health and Human Services ($22M) and Department of Transportation ($8.8M).
What is the money for?
Contracts are classified under NAICS 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). Assistance falls under Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program (12.800), Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (10.215) and Integrative Activities (47.083).
Where is the work performed?
Primary places of performance for its larger awards: MT ($167M).
Is Montana State University a large federal recipient?
It ranks 1,173 of 30,000 organisations on this site by five-year obligations and 11 of 207 located in MT. The site covers organisations with at least $1.0M in a fiscal year; individuals are excluded.
Where does this data come from?
USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury), award transactions as loaded on 30 Sep 2026; fiscal-year totals via the spending-by-category endpoint and award lists via the award search endpoint. The USAspending recipient profile is the authoritative record.
Provenance
Source: USAspending.gov API v2 (U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service), CC0. Fiscal-year obligations from the spending-by-category recipient ranking by recipient state (listing floor $1.0M per year); awards from the award search endpoint (new awards of $1.0M or more by base obligation date); parent and business categories from the recipient profile where fetched. Closed fiscal years are snapshots taken after year end; FY2027 is refreshed on each build. Data loaded by USAspending on 30 Sep 2026. Individuals and sole proprietors are excluded at ingest. Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections and the methodology.