NACOE Academic Guide
Download a photo-filled PDF version of the NACOE Academic Guide highlighting degree offerings, student support resources and more. An accessible web version of the text appears below.
Welcome
The Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering is at the core of MSU’s land- grant mission, providing an inclusive, hands-on learning environment that supports academic excellence, strives for innovation in research and serves the community in Montana and beyond.
I’m thrilled to share with you the exciting opportunities available to our students. In the pages that follow, you’ll get a glimpse of how our engineering and computer science undergraduates are reaching their goals at MSU and in their fields. With a variety of student support services, hands-on research opportunities, and courses designed to meet the need for capable and creative professionals, we set our students up for success. I invite you to learn what awaits you at the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering and how you can be part of our legacy of excellence.
- Brett Gunnink, Ph.D., P.E. M.Eng.Dean
Programs and Degrees
We invite you to explore the undergraduate and graduate degrees and programs we offer by visiting the MSU Programs and Degrees portal.
College Highlights
- Top producer of Goldwater Scholars:
The Goldwater Scholarship is a competitive national award given to math, science and engineering students. MSU has produced a total of 90 Goldwater Scholars as of 2024.
- Number of faculty: 88 tenure-track, 67 non-tenure-track (AY 2021).
- Research expenditures: $23.2 million (2023).
- Mechanical and Industrial Engineering: 38.92%
- Civil Engineering: 19.25%
- Computer Science: 17.33%
- Electrical and Computer Engineering: 10.79%
- Chemical and Biological Engineering: 9.32%
- General: 4.66%
- ePALS
The student mentoring program pairs freshmen and sophomores with juniors and seniors who provide guidance about classes, activities, internships and more. - Empower
The Empower program supports historically underrepresented students in STEM fields. The Empower Student Center provides a study space and services that support inclusive community and academic success.
- Women in Engineering
Offering professional development and networking opportunities, the Women in Engineering program works to build a community of successful women engineers and computer scientists.
- Walk-in help centers
The engineering college offers walk-in help centers where students can get one-on-one help with challenging core courses. - Global horizons
The International Engineering Certificate is a step towards becoming a global computer scientist or engineer—someone who can live, work and perform anywhere. Students work closely with their advisers to turn their engineering study abroad experience or service trip into credit toward the certificate. - Dedicated faculty
One-on-one faculty advising is available to all students for discussing course load, degree planning and career preparation. - Online Advising Center
We provide easy access for current and prospective students to connect with academic pathways, support resources and engagement opportunities.
In 2026, the Gianforte School of Computing will open the doors on its new home: Gianforte Hall, which will provide space for computing-related fields, including cybersecurity, film, photography and music technologies.
The building, which is currently under construction adjacent to Norm Asbjornson Hall, will be three stories and offer 57,759 square feet of interior space. Gianforte Hall will feature two large classrooms and laboratories dedicated to robotics, cybersecurity, augmented and virtual reality, data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning. A video production studio will be available, as will an audio recording facility.
Some of the spaces will be designed to highlight the contributions of computing pioneers Grace Hopper and Alan Turing. The building will also incorporate multiple sustainability features designed to target a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, silver certifiCation. The building will be part of MSU’s South Campus Energy District, a system that helps reduce energy use by allowing buildings to help heat and cool each other. Additionally, Gianforte Hall will be MSU’s first mass timber structure, a sustainable choice of materials that will help minimize carbon emissions from concrete and steel used elsewhere in construction.
“Gianforte Hall is the next step in our journey in expanding access and increasing excellence in computing education at MSU,” said Brett Gunnink, dean of MSU’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. “The Gianforte Family Foundation has been our partner on this journey for the past two decades. We are greatly appreciative of their steadfast support for advancing computing education for Montanans.”
The forthcoming building is made possible by a $50 million donation from the Gianforte Family Foundation. Hennebery Eddy Architects Inc. designed the building. Swank Enterprises is the contractor.
Choose from 38 student clubs and organizations, including:
- Community and Connections
Engineering and computer science students can join any of 38 clubs and organizations within the college, including the Bridger Solar Team and Association for Women in Computing.
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Engineers Without Borders
MSU students have completed more than 30 projects in the Khwisero region of Kenya, including water well projects, sanitation projects, a water pipeline and rainwater catchment systems. - Contruction Competition
MSU civil engineering students regularly place among the top teams at a regional competition where they create mock construction bids on real-world projects such as bridges.
We remain committed to providing a place for all to realize their potential in engineering and computer science.
The Empower program aims to advance our population of students from diverse backgrounds by fostering a supportive learning environment that encourages their academic, professional and leadership development.
- Women faculty on tenure track are 30% of total faculty (2024-25).
- There are 600 women students enrolled in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. (Spring 2024).
Departments and Degrees
The Biomedical Engineering major and minor at Montana State combine engineering with courses like anatomy, physiology and cell biology to prepare students to create new diagnostic devices, prosthetics, pharmaceuticals and more. The programs can overlap with pre-med curricula, enabling students to look ahead to medical school while also opening opportunities in the rapidly growing field of biomedical engineering.
Majors
Biological engineers integrate life sciences with engineering to transform natural materials into products such as medicines, biofuels and foods.
Chemical engineering graduates create valuable products using chemical processes that are cost- effective, energy efficient and sustainable.
Combines engineering with courses like anatomy and cell biology to fulfill pre-med requirements while opening doors to careers in medical research and technology.
- Biofuels
- Biomedicine
- Environmental Restoration
- Pharmaceuticals
Top Employers
- 3M
- BP
- Intel
- Lonza
- Micron
- Pfizer
Get Involved
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Electrochemical Society
- Society for Biological Engineers
Research Highlight
In an effort to improve the feasibility of a renewable energy source, a team of MSU researchers is exploring a potential breakthrough in producing biofuel from algae with the help of a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Building a Sustainable Future
Chemical and biological engineering students plan and host an annual conference on climate change that brings together guest speakers and more than other 100 participants to explore ways that chemical and biological engineers can help society while protecting the environment.
Majors
Civil engineers provide society with vital infrastructure including roads, buildings, bridges, transit systems and water treatment systems while tackling challenges such as pollution and community planning.
Construction engineering technology graduates plan and supervise construction for major projects such as highways, buildings and industrial plants.
- Construction
- Project management
- Transportation
- Water resources
- Geotechnical
- Structural
- Environmental
Get Involved
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Associated General Contractors of America
- Chi Epsilon
- MSU Institute of Transportation Engineers
- Sigma Lambda Chi
Research Highlight
In partnership with the Montana Department of Transportation, MSU undergraduates have helped develop an exceptionally strong and durable concrete that’s now being used for bridge decks in the state.
Educaton for the real world
With a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, MSU is transforming its Environmental Engineering degree to better position graduates to excel in professional practice and serve communities. Courses are structured around real-world, multifaceted projects that incorporate technical subjects as well as community engagement, economics and writing for general audiences.
Majors
Electrical engineers are key contributors at the frontier of science and engineering, using physics, electronics and electromagnetism to work with everything from nanotechnology to smart grids, inside human bodies to deep outer space.
Computer engineers use their understanding of software, electronic circuits, innovation and design to work with modern embedded computer processors that provide the electronic brains for phones, autonomous vehicles, biomedical devices, computer networks and more.
Minors
Career Opportunities
- Aerospace
- Optics
- Robotics
- Digital design
- Audio engineering
- Power systems
Get Involved
- Bridger Solar Team
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – MSU Student Section
- Robocats
- Robosub Club
- Space Science and Engineering Lab
Top Employers
- Hewlett-Packard
- Micron
- Fluke
Research Highlight
More than 70 undergraduates have been involved in developing RadPC, a spacecraft computing technology that can recover from radiation interference in outer space. A prototype is scheduled to journey to the moon for testing aboard a NASA mission in 2024.
Inform and inspire
Service learning is key to the MSU experience. That’s why you’ll find computer and electrical engineering students and faculty active with local, regional and international activities including FIRST Robotics, outreachto K-12 education, engineering competitions and summer research programs for underrepresented groups in engineering.
Majors
Financial engineers work at the intersection of business, economics and engineering to manage market risk, create strategic business opportunities and lower costs for goods and services.
IMSEs optimize the ways in which organizations deliver goods and services across a number of fields, including health care, manufacturing, energy and transportation.
Mechanical engineers transform materials into products that you use every day, creating the machines that we use, developing the energy sources we rely on, and designing environmentally- friendly buildings where we live and work.
Mechanical engineering technology graduates solve design problems big and small in order to improve the operation and performance of mechanical systems.
Minors
- Aerospace
- Financial Engineering
- Mechatronics
- Materials
- Engineering Management
- Building Energy Systems
Career Opportunities
- Aerospace
- Automation and robotics
- Automotive
- Biomedical
- Building systems
- Energy
- Finance
- Manufacturing
- Material science
- National Laboratories
Get Involved
- American Society of Engineering Management
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- Bobcat Motorsports
- Bridger Solar Team
- Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Robocats
- RoboSub Club
Research Highlight
For their senior capstone project, a team of MSU undergraduates designed and build a device that simulates how water lines on the International Space Station experience the microgravity of low Earth orbit. MSU researchers are working with NASA to fine-tune the tool for studying how to prevent bacterial biofilm from clogging the pipes.
Hands-on Learning
As a requirement of graduation, every engineering college senior completes and presents a hands-on project to the public during the biannual Design Fair. In many cases, students design and build practical solutions for businesses, MSU researchers or government labs.
Majors
Students can choose from several degree options. The Computer Science B.A. empowers students to pair knowledge of computer science with social sciences, the humanities or business. The Computer Science B.S. allows students to master the fundamentals of computing while diving into topics such as artificial intelligence, multimedia and computational biology. A student who earns a Data Science B.S. will use knowledge from computer science, statistics and math to extract knowledge and insights from diverse data.
Master the fundamentals of computing while diving into topics such as artificial intelligence, multimedia and computational biology.
Master the fundamentals of computing while applying it to a wide range of other fields.
A student who earns a Data Science B.S. will use knowledge from computer science, statistics and math to extract knowledge and insights from diverse data.
Minors
Career Opportunities
- Artificial Intelligence
- Mobile app development
- Robotics
- Special effects artist
- Web design
Top Employers
- SoFi
- Oracle
- Microsoft
- Boeing
Get Involved
- Association for Computing Machinery
- Association for Women in Computing
- Hackercats
- Robocats
- Undergraduate Course Assistants
Research Highlight
MSU researcher Brittany Terese Fasy recently won a $600,000 CAREER grant from the
National Science Foundation to advance topological data analysis,
a powerful computing technique that can be used
to map and compare road networks from GPS data, diagnose prostate cancer from medical
imaging, and classify galaxies based on telescope images.
Invest in Your Future
Computer science students are encouraged to take advantage of professional development opportunities such as all expenses-paid trips to the oSTEM or Grace Hopper conferences or taking part in the annual Spring Break Tech Road Trip.