Montana State University-Northern

Montana State University-Northern, operating through its Vande Bogart Library division, is a public 1862 land-grant educational institution in Havre, Montana that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient for student support services, workforce development, and laboratory equipment acquisition but does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles. The institution is structured as a U.S. government entity.

The institution's recent federal footprint concentrates in grant-funded educational and workforce programs. As a prime grant recipient, MSUN received a $315,791 TRIO Student Support Services award from the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education (CFDA 84.042) effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, supporting academic advising, financial literacy instruction, and educational support for disadvantaged college students including low-income, first-generation, and students with disabilities. MSUN also holds a Veterans Upward Bound Project Grant from the same grantor (award date September 1, 2024, completion August 31, 2026) and received a modern laboratory equipment grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences (award date July 1, 2026, completion June 30, 2027) to acquire polarizing microscopes, portable X-ray fluorescence analyzers, thin-section preparation systems, GPS RTK units, and augmented reality sandbox systems for geology, environmental studies, and agricultural science curricula.

Customer concentration sits heavily with the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education, which accounts for 17 of the institution's 24 prime awards (80% coverage). The Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration provided 3 awards; the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Office of the Director provided 2. MSUN operates in a subrecipient role on three federal grants, including equipment and supplies funding for biomedical teaching and research capacity awarded by Montana State University as prime, a Rural Autism Individuals — Supporting Expression (RAISE) program sub-award from Montana State University (June 20, 2024), and grant support team infrastructure funding from the University of Kentucky Research Foundation (January 31, 2025).

Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $40 million against a combined potential value of $24 thousand, reflecting a portfolio heavily weighted toward ongoing multi-year grant commitments. Award velocity has been sparse in recent years — two awards in 2024, three in 2025, and one in 2026 — with only one award reaching completion inside the next twenty-four months.