Only two faculty existed on opening day: Luther Foster, a horticulturist from South Dakota who was also Acting President, and Homer G. Phelps, who taught business.

Determined to make the college into a school of technology, he rapidly expanded the curriculum areas such as biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, and physics.

[11] Further marking this change in direction, the school was officially renamed the Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1913[15] (although that name was in widespread use as early as 1894).

Access by men to Hamilton Hall was strictly limited to young teenage boys (who acted as servants); adult males were permitted only in the first-floor lounge, and only on Sundays.

Believing that a college education was as much about instilling democratic values as teaching skills and trades, Renne rapidly changed the curriculum to emphasize liberal arts such as anthropology, archeology, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Deeply committed to the college's research function, he pushed for MSC to be named a university — a change Renne had since the early 1950s, and which the Montana state legislature approved on 1 July 1965.

Johnson quickly worked to end the acrimonious relationship with the University of Montana, and the two schools began to present a united front to the state legislature.

He was deeply committed to continuing Renne's educational plan but declined to spend money on new buildings (preferring to consolidate and renovate rather than expand).

In March 1976, Pettit announced he was confiscating $1 million in surplus student fees from MSU — money he argued the university was trying to hide from state auditors and the legislature.

Tietz's major goal, increasing research funding, was greatly helped by a 1981 decision of the legislature to refund indirect cost payments back to the university.

Although a second faculty unionization effort failed in 1989, Tietz resigned in March 1990, frustrated by the constant battles with an "old guard" resistant to turning MSU toward high technology.

[23] He had served as MSU's Dean of Graduate Studies from 1979 to 1988,[24] and then three one-year temporary appointments as vice president for Academic Affairs while a fruitless national search occurred for a permanent replacement.

[27] During Malone's presidency, Montana State University witnessed "one of the greatest expansions in campus history", as a large number of new buildings were constructed.

[26] Tuition doubled during his time in office, angering students, and some faculty criticized his willingness to construct new buildings while declining to pay for teaching equipment.

According to Cathy Conover, MSU's chief legislative lobbyist, Gamble's style was "a sea change" that led the Republican-dominated state legislature to rave about him.

[38] In August 2007, Sports Illustrated ran a front-page article, "Trouble in Paradise", that recounted drug use, violence, theft, intimidation, and illegal activities by current and former MSU student-athletes and the complicity of the low-level coaching staff.

In addition to classroom and teaching laboratory space, the building is home to the MSU College of Agriculture's Department of Animal and Range Sciences.

The university would cover the remaining $4 million for the project, paying it back from revenues generated by MSU Athletics, including ticket sales.

[47] The program's first dean, Bob Hietala, oversaw a period of steady enrollment growth, with Gallatin College growing from 100 students at its start to more than 800 in fall 2019.

Several thousand attended daylong events on 16–17 Feb. featuring family activities, music, fireworks, and speeches commemorating the university's history.

[50] A newly installed statue of Abraham Lincoln by Bozeman-area artist Jim Dolan was unveiled at a ceremony honoring the former president's contributions to land-grant universities.

[57] To help stem the spread of the disease, the university canceled events, encouraged students not to return after spring break, and asked employees to work from home, essentially emptying the campus.

[59] In October 2023, Montana State officials were notified that the institution was under investigation by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights for discrimination related to the administration's handling of an incident involving death threats received by members of the Queer Straight Alliance, a registered campus student organization, in the Spring of 2023[60] it was reported that more than 20 students filed complaints with the Federal Agency.

[61] Two months later, the university was informed that it faced additional allegations, this time about failing to adequately respond to complaints of harassment made by female and Jewish students on campus.

[62] The following month, federal agencies informed university officials of a third civil rights investigation related to allegations of discrimination against a student who had reported incidents of sexual harassment.

[81] The university counts among its graduates several recipients of the Rhodes and Truman scholarships, and MSU has consistently produced winners of USA Today Academic All-America honors.

[96] The MSU athletic teams are nicknamed the Bobcats, and they participate in NCAA Division I (I-FCS for football) in the Big Sky Conference, of which Montana State University is a charter member.

Cat Thompson, John "Brick" Breeden, Frank Ward, Val Glynn, and Max Worthington were at the heart of the MSC team that won the Rocky Mountain Conference title three straight seasons, and bested Utah State, BYU, Colorado, and University of Denver.

In 1956 the Bobcats football team took a share of the NAIA championship in the Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas playing to a 0–0 tie with the Pumas of St. Joseph's College from Rensselaer, Indiana.

The Bobcat Nordic and Alpine ski program venues at Bridger Bowl and Bohart Ranch have hosted six NCAA National Championships.