MISSOULA — The University of Montana enrolled 11,319 students this fall, marking the highest student headcount for the flagship campus since 2017.
More than 1,500 first-time entering freshmen enrolled at UM this fall semester — the largest first-year class in 12 years — driving the overall enrollment growth.
"More students are choosing the University of Montana, and more students are choosing to stay. That's the most encouraging part of these numbers," UM President Jeremiah Shinn said. "Our job now is to help more students discover what they're capable of becoming – and to be sure the University of Montana remains a place where students from Montana and beyond can build a future. We have momentum, and our responsibility now is to build on it."
UM also set a new student retention rate record this fall at 77.4%, measuring the proportion of students who persist between their first and second years.
Graduate student enrollment grew to 2,937 students, and Missoula College — UM's embedded two-year college — saw enrollment climb to 1,726 students. Both figures represent an increase from fall 2025.
Growth at Missoula College was driven by a large increase in dual enrollment from area high schools. More than 660 Montana high school students are taking college courses at Missoula College this fall, the highest ever recorded for a fall semester.
Between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, UM educated and trained 12,289 additional individuals through noncredit courses and workforce training initiatives. While these figures have historically not counted toward UM's census enrollment, they illustrate the growing demand the university serves in providing short-term courses designed to help Montanans reskill, upskill and change careers to respond to the state's economic needs.
"Whether we're serving a high school student taking their first college course or a Montanan coming back to school to change careers, our job is to create opportunity," Shinn said. "We don't just award degrees. We help people build better lives, and we help Montana build a stronger future."
In total, 69.3% of all UM students are Montana residents. Additional data from the fall 2026 census includes:
- 3,616 UM students are first-generation college students, meaning nearly 1 in 3 UM students are the first in their family to attend college.
- More than 2,400 UM students are eligible for federal Pell Grants, representing 31% of UM's total undergraduate enrollment. These students come from families who earn significantly less than the state's median wage.
- UM's Alexander Blewett III School of Law welcomed 98 students in its first-year class, bringing total law school enrollment to 274 students.
The full fall 2026 census report is available online.
