by our College Data Analytics TeamThe University of Montana-Western is a public institution in Dillon, Montana enrolling 1,198 undergraduates. It accepts 100% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 51%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,792 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 35%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
The University of Montana-Western ranks #1,792 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 35%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
The University of Montana-Western was awarded 3 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW as #1,792 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW holds the #8 spot on the Best Colleges in Montana ranking.
See all of the rankings for The University of Montana-Western.
The University of Montana-Western has an acceptance rate of 100%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW.
Learn more about The University of Montana-Western admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at The University of Montana-Western is about average at 16 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at The University of Montana-Western is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 79% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like The University of Montana-Western enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 51%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at The University of Montana-Western.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,198 undergraduates at Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at The University of Montana-Western.
The overall average net price of Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $14,822 | $14,058 | $15,951 | $17,785 | $20,125 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW, approximately 34% of students took out student loans averaging $8,702 a year. That adds up to $34,808 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 9.1%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for The University of Montana-Western.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from The University of Montana-Western with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $43,229 in their early years. Unfortunately, this is 12% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at The University of Montana-Western make the most money.
The University of Montana-Western is a public institution situated in Dillon, Montana. The surrounding location of Dillon is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town. Get more details about the location of The University of Montana-Western.
Contact information for The University of Montana-Western are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 710 S Atlantic, Dillon, MT 59725-3598 |
| Phone: | 4066837011 |
| Website: | w.umwestern.edu/ |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/MontanaWestern |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 16 majors graduated from The University of Montana-Western. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 395 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 104 | $34,421 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 38 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 37 | $30,379 |
| General Education | 35 | NA |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 31 | $34,928 |
| Animal Services | 30 | NA |
| Military Applied Sciences | 21 | NA |
| Other Interdisciplinary Studies | 16 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 14 | NA |
418 students took at least one online class at The University of Montana-Western.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at The University of Montana-Western.
Interested in comparing Western Montana College; Montana Western; UM Western; WMC; UMW? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.