Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Montana: the 4 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Montana has 4 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Montana high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Montana runs 2 awards that turn on grades or scores. Montana University System (MUS) Honor Scholarship is one of them. 2 of the 3 programs we could read name a GPA, and 1 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
The state's own pages are the only place these rules live. Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
What this table does not tell you. The state agency's own page names 1 more program in a second table below. Some of those pages give no award figure at all, so those rows carry the name and the link only.
Every state scholarship in Montana
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana University System (MUS) Honor Scholarship | Merit | Waives tuition at an eligible MUS campus; average value at a 4-year Montana campus is $5,000 a year, or $20,000 over four years | 3.4 cumulative GPA at the end of the 7th semester of high school | ACT or SAT score (the higher of the two, if both taken), used with GPA for class-rank-based selection | Montana resident; graduate of a Montana high school accredited by the Montana Board of Public Education | Applications open December 1; a specific final deadline date was not stated on this page | Renewable for a maximum of 8 semesters; transferable to other eligible MUS campuses with proper notification | Source |
| Montana's STEM and Healthcare Scholarship | Merit | $1,000 (year 1), $1,500 (year 2), $1,500 (year 3), $2,000 (year 4) for a qualifying STEM or healthcare major at an MUS campus | 3.25 minimum cumulative high school GPA | — | Montana resident; graduate of a Montana Board of Public Education-accredited high school; declared qualifying STEM or healthcare major; full-time enrollment (12+ credits) | March 15 of the year of high school graduation | Through the 4th year if requirements are maintained and the student stays enrolled full-time each semester | Source |
| Gianforte Trade and Technology Scholarships | Need-based | $1,500/year for full-time enrollment or $750/year for part-time enrollment in a qualifying trade or technical program | — | — | Montana resident; enrolled at least 6 credits in a qualifying trade/technical program; satisfactory academic progress | Fall semester September 1; spring semester February 1 | Up to the equivalent of 4 semesters full-time or 8 semesters part-time, combined across the program | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Montana high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
Other programs the state names
The agency's own page lists these too. Where its page gives no award figure, the row carries the name and the link only.
| Program | What it pays | What the page says | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2+2 Honor Scholarship | A waiver of undergraduate tuition at any four-year campus of the Montana University System | For a student who has already earned an associate degree with a 3.4 college GPA, so it starts after community college rather than straight out of high school | Source |
These rows come from the Montana agency's own index of programs. A blank award means that index does not state one, not that the program pays nothing.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. In Montana the earliest date on this table is the one to put on the calendar first.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Montana offer?
Montana has 4 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
Does Montana have a merit scholarship?
Montana runs 2 awards that turn on grades or scores, and Montana University System (MUS) Honor Scholarship is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Montana scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Montana University System, Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Montana high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
- Montana University System, Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education
- Montana University System (MUS) Honor Scholarship
- Montana's STEM and Healthcare Scholarship
- Gianforte Trade and Technology Scholarships
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-montana.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Montana · Scholarship deadlines