Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Montana Technological University

Montana Tech's liberal arts bachelor's comes with an estimated price tag of nearly $27,000 in debt—a figure drawn from comparable public universities offering similar degrees. Against first-year earnings that peer programs nationally suggest around $36,340, you're looking at a debt load that's about three-quarters of that initial paycheck. That's a manageable ratio on paper, but there's a catch: other liberal arts programs in Montana typically see lower starting salaries (around $30,000), which could mean this estimate is optimistic for the local market.

What makes this harder to evaluate is Montana Tech's core identity as an engineering and mining school—not a liberal arts powerhouse. The small cohort size (which triggered the data suppression) suggests this isn't a program the university invests heavily in developing. When Montana State's actual reported outcomes for liberal arts graduates hover around $30,000, it raises questions about whether Montana Tech's smaller program can truly deliver above-state-average results.

The financing itself appears structured reasonably compared to national norms, but you're essentially betting on uncertain outcomes at a school known for technical fields. If your student is set on liberal arts in Montana, larger programs with reported data would at least eliminate the guesswork about what graduates actually earn.