Bachelor's · Bozeman, Montana

Is Natural Resources Conservation and Research at Montana State University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 8.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $50,124; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $52,252; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $12,625; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $98k (likely $98k – $135k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MT; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 8.7 years (likely 5.4–17.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$134k (likely −$229k – −$34k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $25k (likely −$139k – $219k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 59%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26