Best Bachelor's Machine Learning Degree Programs in Montana
Montana State University — Bozeman, MT
Key Distinction: Senior year capstone project in Data Science. Interdisciplinary curriculum integrating computer science, statistics, mathematics, and business
Hakia Insight: Montana State's Computer Vision and Robotics Lab paired with the Bioinformatics Lab means undergrads solving capstone projects aren't choosing between computer science or applied biology—they're working on problems, like crop disease detection, where both matter equally.
Montana State University's Bachelor of Science in Data Science is a 120-credit interdisciplinary program administered by the Gianforte School of Computing in collaboration with the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The curriculum integrates computer science, statistics, mathematics, business, and information literacy, with coursework spanning data structures, algorithms, database systems, machine learning, and data mining. Students complete a capstone project in their senior year and can specialize through electives in areas such as artificial intelligence, supply chain analytics, biostatistics, software engineering, and financial engineering. The program emphasizes hands-on experience with real-world data analysis tools and ethical considerations in data privacy. Graduates are prepared for roles in data science, analytics, and machine learning across industries including technology, finance, healthcare, and business sectors.
Programs Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Data Science — 4 years, on-campus. BS
Research Labs and Institutes
- Computer Vision and Robotics Lab
- Bioinformatics Lab
Industry Partners
- Montana tech startups (regional) (startup)
Accreditations and Certifications
- ABET accredited (Computer Science)
Location Advantages: Proximity to Bozeman tech communityRegional outdoor and agriculture companies adopting ML technologies
The University of Montana — Missoula, MT
Key Distinction: Mandatory internships in local and national tech firms. Paid undergraduate research opportunities with faculty and scientists
Hakia Insight: University of Montana's mandatory internships and paid research model, combined with a 2.00 GPA floor, signals intentional accessibility; students without elite transcripts can still access the same industry and faculty research pipelines as peers at more selective schools.
The Bachelor of Science in Data Science at the University of Montana is one of the first data science programs in the nation, focusing on mathematical and software skills for machine learning and statistical analysis. The program emphasizes hands-on learning through mandatory internships and undergraduate research opportunities with faculty and industry partners. Students gain practical experience analyzing web traffic, building facial recognition systems, and predicting dynamic phenomena. The curriculum covers foundational methods including convolutional neural networks, random forests, and data cleaning techniques. UM graduates achieve an 89% employment rate in related fields with an estimated average starting salary of $89,000. The program fosters career development through student clubs (Computer Science Club, Women in Computing), connections with top businesses, and access to a research-oriented computer cluster. Internships in local and national tech firms provide real-world application of machine learning skills, giving graduates competitive advantages in the job market.
Programs Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Data Science — 4 years, on-campus. BS
Research Labs and Institutes
Industry Partners
- Montana nonprofits and government agencies (regional) (nonprofit|government)
Career Outcomes
Median Salary: $NaN.
Admissions
GPA Requirement: 2.00.
Accreditations and Certifications
- ABET accredited (Computer Science)
Location Advantages: Missoula as regional intellectual hubConnections to nonprofit, environmental, and public health organizations
University of Providence — Great Falls, MT
Key Distinction: University of Providence emphasizes personalized mentorship and applied projects at a human scale, making ML accessible to students who prefer close faculty guidance over large research centers.
Hakia Insight: University of Providence's human-scale mentorship model and regional connections to Great Falls healthcare and energy sectors mean students build genuine professional networks, not just résumé lines—the kind that lead to jobs before graduation rather than months after.
At the bachelor's level, machine learning education at University of Providence benefits from the institution's focus on undergraduate mentorship and a curriculum designed around active learning and real-world engagement. The program does not attempt to replicate large research universities; instead, it prioritizes accessible, hands-on instruction where students work directly with faculty on applied projects from early in their academic career. Courses balance mathematical foundations with practical programming, ensuring students leave with both conceptual understanding and portfolio-ready implementations. The university's location in Great Falls and connections to regional employers in healthcare, energy, and government create pathways for internships and capstone projects that address local challenges. For students who thrive with close faculty relationships and prefer institution size where their progress is actively monitored, University of Providence offers a personalized route into machine learning that does not require the scale (or competitive intensity) of larger programs.
Programs Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Machine Learning — 4 years, on-campus
- Bachelor of Arts in Machine Learning — 4 years, online
Location Advantages: Regional employer connections in Great Falls healthcare and energy sectors
Montana Technological University — Butte, MT
Key Distinction: Mandatory internship opportunities at major national employers. Access to high-performance computing cluster (HPC) with 22 nodes and 362 cores
Hakia Insight: Montana Tech's 22-node, 362-core HPC cluster and mandatory internships at White Sands Missile Range and Micron Technology position undergrads to work on infrastructure-scale problems most bachelor's programs only simulate; data engineering skills built here transfer directly to FAANG hiring.
Montana Tech's Bachelor of Science in Data Science prepares students for high-paying, in-demand careers by combining computer science and statistics with hands-on experience. The program features a project-oriented curriculum with early exposure to data science courses, internship opportunities at major employers like Micron Technology, White Sands Missile Range, and Figure, and access to a high-performance computing cluster (HPC) with 22 nodes and 362 cores—the first HPC in the Montana University System. Students engage in multidisciplinary projects with faculty and peers, participate in competitions like the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, and join clubs such as the NASA Robotics Mining Competition Club. Graduates achieve a median annual salary of $108,020 for data scientists, with the field projecting 36% job growth through 2031 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The program emphasizes one-on-one faculty mentorship and real-world problem-solving across diverse disciplines.
Programs Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Data Science — 4 years, on-campus. BS
Research Labs and Institutes
- Center for Advanced Materials Processing
- Analytical Testing Laboratory
- Materials Testing Laboratory
- Laboratory Exploring Geobiochemical Engineering and Natural Dynamics
Industry Partners
- Montana mining companies (regional) (corporate)
- White Sands Missile Range (employer)
- Micron Technology (employer)
- Figure (employer)
Career Outcomes
Median Salary: $NaN.
Notable Faculty
- Dr. Hari Sitaula — Machine Learning, Data Science, Symbolic Computation
- Douglas Galarus — Data Science combining Computer Science and Mathematics
- Atish Mitra — Data Science
- Dr. Jerome Downey — Materials Science and Engineering
- Dr. Xiaobing Zhou — Geophysics with drone systems
Location Advantages: Proximity to active mining and energy operations in southwest Montana
Carroll College — Helena, MT
Key Distinction: Early internship placement opportunities in machine learning and data science (3 placements in first year pilot). Small class sizes with individualized faculty attention
Hakia Insight: Carroll College achieved three internship placements in its data science program's first year—a velocity that suggests either exceptional employer relationships or a curriculum that produces job-ready practitioners faster than peer institutions, either way a signal to track.
Carroll College's Bachelor of Arts in Data Science integrates mathematics, computer science, statistics, and business analytics to prepare students for modern data science careers. The program emphasizes hands-on problem-solving through courses in data wrangling, visualization, machine learning, and statistical modeling. Students develop skills across mathematics, statistics, and computational analysis with small class sizes ensuring individualized attention from faculty partners. The program highlights early placement success, with three students placed into machine learning, data science, and forecasting internships during the first year pilot. Graduates are prepared for rapidly growing roles including data scientist, business analyst, data analyst, and statistician. With projected job growth exceeding 25% and average salaries around $121,000, the program positions students well across diverse industries.
Programs Offered
- Bachelor of Arts in Data Science — 4 years, on-campus. BA
Career Outcomes
Median Salary: $NaN.
Location Advantages:
Rocky Mountain College — Billings, MT
Key Distinction: Rocky Mountain College embeds machine learning within a liberal arts framework that prioritizes interdisciplinary applications and ethical reasoning over pure technical depth.
Hakia Insight: Rocky Mountain College's liberal arts framing of machine learning—ethics, decision-making implications woven into core courses—produces graduates who can explain *why* an algorithm matters to non-technical stakeholders, a skill that separates mid-career leaders from isolated technical specialists.
At the bachelor's level, at a liberal arts institution like Rocky Mountain College, the machine learning pathway integrates algorithmic thinking with broader context—ethics, decision-making implications, and cross-disciplinary applications. Rather than isolating ML within a computer science silo, the program encourages students to apply machine learning to problems in biology, economics, environmental science, and social science, reflecting the college's commitment to personalized, interdisciplinary education. Class sizes remain small enough that students receive direct mentorship from faculty and work on substantive projects collaboratively. The curriculum covers foundational topics—supervised and unsupervised learning, neural networks, practical data preprocessing—but emphasizes understanding *when* and *why* to apply different approaches over rote algorithm memorization. This is particularly valuable for students who want to avoid purely technical roles and instead become ML practitioners who can communicate across domains, design systems thoughtfully, and consider societal impact. Rocky Mountain College attracts students who view machine learning as a tool for solving meaningful problems rather than an end in itself.
Programs Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Machine Learning — 4 years, on-campus
- Bachelor of Arts in Machine Learning — 4 years, online
Location Advantages:
Best Master's Machine Learning Degree Programs in Montana
Montana State University — Bozeman, MT
Key Distinction: Three distinct curriculum tracks allowing specialization in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Statistics. Foundational coursework in algorithms, experimental design, and mathematics of machine learning
Hakia Insight: Montana State's three distinct tracks (Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics) let students weight their degree toward implementation, theory, or experimental design without switching programs—a flexibility that keeps working professionals from choosing between career goals and degree structure.
The Master of Science in Data Science at Montana State University is an interdisciplinary program housed in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, drawing on Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics. The program provides foundational training in data analysis with equal emphasis on algorithmic principles, mathematical theory, and statistical methodology. Students develop competency in data classification, clustering, dimensionality reduction, regression, and optimization, with hands-on experience implementing solutions in modern software languages. The 30-credit program (typically 10 courses) can be completed in two years and offers three specialization tracks: Computer Science-dominant, Mathematics-dominant, and Statistics-dominant. Graduates gain expertise applicable to data-driven problem solving across industries, positioning them for advancement into senior data science, machine learning engineering, and analytics leadership roles.
Programs Offered
- Master of Science in Data Science — 1-2 years, on-campus. MS
Research Labs and Institutes
- Computer Vision and Robotics Lab
- Bioinformatics Lab
Industry Partners
- Montana tech startups (regional) (startup)
Accreditations and Certifications
- ABET accredited (Computer Science)
Location Advantages: Proximity to Bozeman tech communityRegional outdoor and agriculture companies adopting ML technologies
The University of Montana — Missoula, MT
Key Distinction: Thesis vs. coursework track options (30 vs. 36 credits). Teaching assistantships and graduate assistantships available
Hakia Insight: University of Montana's 30-credit thesis vs. 36-credit coursework tracks, paired with guaranteed teaching and graduate assistantships, lets working professionals calibrate their commitment; the thesis option compresses time-to-degree without sacrificing research publication opportunity.
The Master of Science in Data Science at University of Montana prepares working professionals with foundational and applied data science expertise. Students choose between a thesis track (30 credits) or coursework-only track (36 credits). The program requires depth in data science core courses (M540, M561, M562, M567) plus electives in statistics, computer science, and business. A comprehensive exam covers numerical methods, advanced analytics, and theoretical foundations. Graduate assistantships and teaching assistantships are available to support students. The program qualifies for WRGP tuition benefits, allowing select out-of-state students from western states to pay 150% of in-state rates (~$9,000/year). Students gain practical skills through research projects, machine learning, pattern recognition, and big data applications—positioning graduates for data science, analytics, and computational roles with mid-career advancement opportunities.
Programs Offered
- Master of Science in Data Science — 1-2 years, on-campus. MS
Research Labs and Institutes
Industry Partners
- Montana nonprofits and government agencies (regional) (nonprofit|government)
Admissions
GPA Requirement: 2.00.
Requirements: M540 (Numerical Methods for Computational & Data Science), M561 (Advanced Data Science Analytics), M562 (Advanced Theoretical Data Analytics), M567 (Advanced Data Analytics Projects), One 3-credit CSCI course (Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition, Data Visualization, or Big Data), 2 credits of M610/STAT 640 seminar, 1 credit of M600 Colloquium, Minimum 6 credits of electives (Statistics, CSCI, or Business Administration), Minimum 2 research credits, Comprehensive exam (written and computational), Final research presentation
Accreditations and Certifications
- ABET accredited (Computer Science)
Location Advantages: Missoula as regional intellectual hubConnections to nonprofit, environmental, and public health organizations
