Do Kentucky Residents Get In-State Tuition in Montana? (Graduate, 2026)
No — Kentucky residents pay full non-resident graduate tuition in Montana, about $25,600 a year at University of Montana Graduate School against $8,000 for residents. There is no exchange program between Kentucky and Montana; the only route to the in-state rate is establishing Montana residency, which takes 12 months.
- You would pay
- $25,600/yr
- Resident pays
- $8,000/yr
- Over 2 yrs
- No saving available
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
This is the common case, and the honest answer is no. Montana charges Kentucky residents its full non-resident graduate rate of $25,600, and no regional program bridges the two states.
Seen from Kentucky, this is one option among 50. 18 other states offer Kentucky residents a reduced graduate rate, the lowest being Arkansas at about $9,500, against $14,000 for in-state study at University of Kentucky Graduate School.
One more angle: some public universities charge non-resident rates that are lower than another state's in-state rate. Comparing Montana's $25,600 against your home options on absolute cost, rather than on residency status, occasionally changes the answer.
Every route from Kentucky to Montana
No exchange program or bilateral agreement connects these two states at graduate level, so the route table is empty.
Where Kentucky residents pay less
Staying home, a Kentucky resident pays $14,000 a year for in-state graduate tuition at University of Kentucky Graduate School. The cheapest Montana option for you is $25,600 at University of Montana Graduate School, which is $11,600 a year more than staying home, or $23,200 over 2 years.
Kentucky belongs to Academic Common Market (ACM) at graduate level, so 18 of 50 states offer Kentucky graduate students a reduced rate. Montana is not one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky to Arkansas | Academic Common Market · University of Arkansas Graduate School | $9,500 |
| Kentucky to Mississippi | Academic Common Market · University of Mississippi Graduate School | $9,800 |
| Kentucky to Indiana | Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements · Indiana University Graduate School | $10,300 |
| Kentucky to Louisiana | Academic Common Market · LSU Graduate School | $10,300 |
| Kentucky to Oklahoma | Academic Common Market · OU Graduate College | $10,300 |
Kentucky's neighboring states, compared
What a Kentucky resident pays for graduate tuition in each state that borders Kentucky, cheapest first:
- Indiana$10,300/yr · Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements
- Missouri$11,300/yr · Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements
- West Virginia$12,000/yr · Academic Common Market
- Tennessee$14,000/yr · Academic Common Market
- Ohio$14,700/yr · Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements
- Illinois$18,700/yr · Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements
- Virginia$20,000/yr · Academic Common Market
Compare all 50 states from Kentucky in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Montana residency, in brief
Montana grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Mont. Admin. R. 20.25.501), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Montana to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Montana residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Budget for the non-resident rate at University of Montana Graduate School: $25,600 a year against $8,000 for residents.
- Check whether the specific campus you want offers its own non-resident scholarship or a border-county waiver — those are institutional, sit outside the state agreements, and are the most commonly missed discount.
- If you plan to stay, price the residency route: Montana requires 12 months of domicile, and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile, so the family would need to move.
- Read the Montana University System / Board of Regents rules in full before you enroll — classification is decided once, and re-classification later in a degree is the hardest version of this problem.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Kentucky residents get in-state tuition in Montana?
No. Kentucky residents pay the full non-resident rate of $25,600 at University of Montana Graduate School. The only route to the $8,000 in-state rate is establishing Montana residency.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Montana?
Montana requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Mont. Admin. R. 20.25.501), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would graduate study in Montana actually cost a Kentucky resident?
About $25,600 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at University of Montana Graduate School, against $8,000 for a Montana resident. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can Kentucky residents get reduced graduate tuition?
In 18 states at graduate level. Outside Montana, the lowest are Arkansas ($9,500), Mississippi ($9,800), Indiana ($10,300). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Montana cheaper than staying in Kentucky?
No. Kentucky's in-state graduate rate is $14,000 a year at University of Kentucky Graduate School, and the cheapest Montana option for a Kentucky resident is $25,600, so Montana costs about $11,600 more a year, or $23,200 over 2 years, in tuition and fees alone.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- Montana University System / Board of Regents — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Montana Graduate School — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Kentucky Graduate School — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of Montana Graduate School’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (WICHE, SREB). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Montana University System / Board of Regents, Mont. Admin. R. 20.25.501. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.