Best Electrical Engineering Degree Programs in Montana in 2026
Montana’s two electrical engineering degree programs reviewed here make power and control visible in different ways. Montana Tech requires electric machines, process instrumentation and power-system analysis. Montana State places energy conversion and feedback control inside a broad electrical curriculum with professional electives. Our 2026 ranking examines these Butte and Bozeman bachelor’s degrees, their laboratory and design work, and the conditions affecting transfer and cost.
The credit totals are also different: Montana Tech’s current catalog requires 134 credits, while Montana State’s published plan totals 125. That difference should lead to a look at the actual required courses and remaining semesters. It does not by itself establish which degree is stronger or which will cost an individual student less.
Electrical Engineering bachelor’s rankings by state+
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Inside this ranking
How we ranked electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Montana
This selected ranking includes Montana Technological University in Butte and Montana State University in Bozeman. Both reviews address the named campus BS degrees in Electrical Engineering. Related graduate degrees, engineering-technology programs and outcomes for all university graduates are outside the basis of this undergraduate comparison.
Montana Tech leads for its required power and industrial-control subjects and documented protection/energy-conversion laboratories. Montana State follows for its broad electrical foundation, early laboratory work and professional-elective flexibility. The editorial order emphasizes the reviewed undergraduate requirements; students seeking a different balance of required courses and electives may prefer Montana State.
$4,592.18 resident tuition and mandatory fees at 15 credits
Cost basis & conditions +
For Fall 2026/Spring 2027, the 15-credit undergraduate tuition-and-mandatory-fee table totals $4,592.18 for Montana residents or $13,497.40 for nonresidents per semester. Fees vary with credit load even where base tuition plateaus. This table does not establish a whole-degree price; applicable course charges, housing, food, supplies and other personal expenses are additional.
Montana Tech’s current electrical engineering curriculum makes power and industrial control especially visible. Electric Machine Fundamentals, Process Instrumentation and Control, and Power Systems Analysis are required alongside electronics, signals, microprocessors and telecommunications. The department also identifies specialized power-system laboratories for protection and energy conversion. Its 2026–27 catalog requires 134 credits, including two senior design courses, engineering economics and business ethics. That combination makes the Butte degree worth examining through a proposed power or automation pathway, while retaining attention to the broader electrical foundation and the catalog’s particular transfer restrictions.
Where it stands out
Montana Tech suits students who want machines, power-system analysis and process instrumentation included in their electrical degree rather than left entirely to elective choice. Its documented protection and energy-conversion laboratories give power-oriented applicants specific facilities and project applications to investigate.
What to weigh
The current plan requires 134 credits and identifies several core courses that must be taken at Montana Tech, so substantial prior coursework may not eliminate the final program sequence. Professional electives also have a restricted course range. Tuition and mandatory fees vary with load, while additional course and living expenses remain separate.
The 2026–27 core includes circuits, digital logic, microprocessors, electric machines, feedback controls, process instrumentation, electronics, signals and power-system analysis.
Telecommunications, electromagnetics, engineering economics and business ethics accompany the later electrical work.
Professional electives are restricted to EELE courses at the 400 level or above, excluding EELE 498.
Admission & progression
Freshman applicants can meet Montana Tech’s published academic standard through GPA, class-rank or test-score alternatives; test scores are optional for admission and placement is a separate matter.
The current EE catalog marks specific core courses that must be completed at Montana Tech and cannot be replaced by transfer coursework.
Design & practical experience
Electrical Engineering Design I and II are required in the senior year.
The program identifies power-system laboratories dedicated to protection, energy conversion, power-plant systems and training.
The catalog requires a Fundamentals of Engineering Exam for EE course as part of the final-year plan.
$4,720.45 resident tuition and general fees per semester
Cost basis & conditions +
Fall 2026/Spring 2027 undergraduate tuition and general fees at 12 or more credits are $4,720.45 for Montana residents or $17,142.85 for nonresidents per semester. The table explicitly excludes program fees, course fees and health insurance; the catalog identifies Engineering among programs with additional charges. Living costs are separate, and students must account for their own insurance arrangements.
Montana State’s electrical engineering plan gives students a required foundation in both electronic systems and energy conversion. Signals, electronics, microprocessors, electromagnetic theory and feedback control all appear before the senior design sequence, while professional electives create room for additional EE and outside technical interests. The 125-credit plan also includes applied data analysis and professional practice. The department describes laboratory work beginning with Introduction to Electrical Fundamentals, giving prospective students an early practical course to investigate. For students comparing Montana campuses, Bozeman’s plan offers a useful balance of electrical breadth and later elective choice.
Where it stands out
Montana State merits consideration if you want energy conversion and control alongside electronic hardware and computing in the required curriculum. Its two-semester senior design sequence and early electrical laboratory course make the development of practical skills an accessible topic for an advising or campus-visit conversation.
What to weigh
The sample schedule depends on mathematical readiness and the sequence of electrical prerequisites; students beginning below calculus need an individual plan. The published full-time university tuition-and-fee amount excludes engineering program fees, applicable course charges and insurance, so it is a starting budget rather than the entire electrical bill.
The 125-credit plan requires circuits, signals, electronics, microprocessor hardware/software, electromagnetics, feedback controls and energy conversion devices.
EE and non-EE professional electives provide advanced study beyond the shared electrical core.
The curriculum includes applied engineering data analysis, professional ethics/practice and the Fundamentals of Engineering examination requirement.
Admission & progression
The university’s freshman admission criteria allow the published high-school GPA, class-rank or test-score alternatives, alongside college-preparatory coursework.
Mathematics placement determines the starting course; students should map that preparation to the first-year calculus and physics sequence in the electrical plan.
Design & practical experience
Introduction to Electrical Fundamentals begins the program’s laboratory work.
Electrical Engineering Design I and II span two consecutive semesters in the senior-year plan.
The department identifies facilities supporting digital design, communications, controls and microfabrication.
What matters in electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Montana
Power within the curriculum
Required machines, conversion, control and power analysis are distinguished from optional advanced subjects.
Practice and design
Named laboratories and two-course senior projects provide concrete evidence of how students apply electrical concepts.
Transfer and full-time cost
Core-course residency restrictions, remaining credits and excluded program fees affect the practical completion plan.
Examine power and control in Montana electrical engineering degrees
Montana Tech’s 2026–27 EE catalog requires Electric Machine Fundamentals, Process Instrumentation and Control, and Power Systems Analysis. Feedback controls, electronics, signals and telecommunications provide the surrounding electrical foundation. Its nine professional-elective credits are restricted to approved advanced EELE coursework, while economics and business ethics are also part of the degree.
Montana State’s electrical plan requires energy conversion devices, feedback control, signals, electronics, microprocessors and electromagnetics. EE and non-EE professional electives create a different balance between shared electrical study and later choices. Students who already favor power should compare both the core course and the advanced offerings that would build on it.
Use laboratories and capstone requirements to guide a visit
Montana Tech’s program overview identifies power-system laboratories dedicated to protection, energy conversion and power-plant systems. Those are specific facilities to ask about during a visit: find out which undergraduate courses use them and what preparation students need before independent work. The catalog also requires Electrical Engineering Design I and II in the senior year.
Montana State describes laboratory work starting in Introduction to Electrical Fundamentals and continuing through the program. Its senior plan likewise requires two semesters of electrical design. A useful conversation with either department should cover how project topics are chosen, which tests establish that a design meets its requirements and how team members document their contributions. Those details help connect a laboratory interest with an actual student experience.
Plan transfer credits and the complete engineering bill
Montana Tech marks several EE core courses that must be taken at the institution, with no transfer replacements allowed. This is a material condition for students arriving after substantial engineering study elsewhere. Montana State’s first-year sequence depends on mathematics placement and readiness for calculus-based physics. In both cases, map the remaining prerequisites and design sequence before assuming a particular graduation date.
Montana Tech’s 2026–27 table gives tuition and mandatory fees by semester credit load; some fees continue to vary even where base tuition levels off. Montana State’s full-time table explicitly excludes program fees, course fees and insurance, and its catalog lists Engineering among programs with additional charges. Those exclusions belong in the budget alongside housing and supplies. Our engineering degree cost guide explains how to compare that complete budget after aid.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Which Montana electrical engineering degree requires more credits?+
The current reviewed plans require 134 credits at Montana Tech and 125 at Montana State. Compare the courses, transfer application and remaining sequence behind those totals; credit count alone does not determine academic fit or individual completion cost.
Where is process instrumentation required?+
Montana Tech’s current electrical engineering catalog requires Process Instrumentation and Control. Electric machines and power-system analysis are also in its core, giving students several required subjects connected to industrial and power applications.
Can transfer students replace every Montana Tech electrical core course?+
No. The 2026–27 catalog marks specific core courses that must be completed at Montana Tech and do not allow transfer substitutes. Have those restrictions included in an individual degree audit before estimating the remaining semesters.
Does Montana State’s full-time tuition table include engineering program charges?+
No. The university table explicitly excludes program fees, course fees and health insurance. Its catalog identifies Engineering among programs with additional charges, so the listed full-time tuition and general fees are not the complete electrical-program bill.
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