Montana student and vocational grants: Montana Promise, Gianforte, MT10 and WIOA (2026-27)

Where Montana’s state grant money goes in 2026-27

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: OCHE Promise procedures, Award Montana and campus Montana 10 pages ⁠¹⁠⁴⁠⁶⁠⁷. None of these is an entitlement; each stops when its funding runs out.

The money behind these programs is small. In OCHE’s FY 2026 budget, Montana 10 has $3.5 million and the Montana Promise Grant has $100,000 (marked one-time-only); neither line had money in FY 2025 ⁠³. By comparison, the MUS reports that federal Pell sends about $48 million a year to 10,700 Montana recipients ⁠¹². If you read older guides that mention the “MTAP Baker Grant,” that program’s Board policy was repealed in 2019 ⁠⁸.

Montana Promise Grant: $1,000 a semester for maximum-Pell students

The Montana Promise Act (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 20-26-621 to -623) created the grant in 2017 for students at community colleges, tribal colleges and the two-year campuses of the MUS ⁠². OCHE’s current procedures, revised August 18, 2025, set these rules ⁠¹:

• Enroll at least half time at a Montana community college, a tribal college, or a two-year MUS campus, in courses that lead to an associate degree, a professional credential or transfer as at least a second-year student.
• Be a Montana resident under Board of Regents Policy 940.1. The statute requires 12 months of residence before you apply ⁠².
• Have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate.
• File the FAFSA every year and receive the maximum Pell Grant for your credit load. This is Montana’s de facto need test; there is no separate SAI cutoff.
• Have no associate degree and no more than 60 credits, or no more credits than your associate program requires.
• Meet satisfactory academic progress. Students on warning or probation still qualify.

Awards are flat: $1,000 per semester for 12 or more credits and $500 for 6 to 11 credits, fall and spring only, so the maximum is $2,000 a year ⁠¹. Campuses award the grant from FAFSA data until their share is gone. A grant one semester does not guarantee the next, and it does not move with you if you transfer ⁠¹. The statute caps total awards at $2 million a year, but the Legislature funded only $100,000 one-time-only for this biennium, which OCHE’s budget places in FY 2026 ⁠²⁠³. OCHE has not published a separate FY 2027 amount, so ask your financial aid office whether Promise money is still available for spring 2027.

Gianforte Trade and Technology Scholarships through Award Montana

This is the state-administered award most useful to vocational students. It pays $1,500 per semester full time or $750 per semester part time, for up to the equivalent of 4 full-time or 8 part-time semesters ⁠⁴. Unlike Promise, it has its own application in the Award Montana Portal, and you must already be enrolled in the term you apply for ⁠⁴. To qualify, you must ⁠⁴⁠⁵:

1. Be a Montana resident under Board Policy 940.1.
2. File a FAFSA (dual-credit high school students are exempt).
3. Have unmet need, defined as cost of attendance minus your Student Aid Index minus other aid except loans.
4. Be in good standing and take at least 6 credits in a qualifying program.

Deadlines are September 1 for fall and February 1 for spring, so the next window closes February 1, 2027 ⁠⁴⁠⁵. The fact sheet lists more than 200 scholarships statewide ⁠⁵. Qualifying campuses include City College at MSU Billings, Flathead Valley, Gallatin College, Great Falls College, Helena College, Highlands College, Missoula College, MSU-Northern, Dawson, Miles, and five tribal colleges ⁠⁴. Programs range from diesel technology, welding and HVAC to cybersecurity, aviation maintenance, plumbing and truck driving ⁠⁵.

Montana 10: last-dollar tuition at participating MUS campuses

Montana 10 is the best funded of the three programs ($3.5 million in FY 2026) ⁠³. Eligibility is broader than Promise: be a Montana resident, file a FAFSA and qualify for any amount of Pell, be admitted to an MUS campus that runs Montana 10, and be a first-time undergraduate or a transfer student with fewer than 24 credits, not counting dual-enrollment or AP credits ⁠⁶⁠⁷. Scholars get a last-dollar scholarship that covers the tuition and mandatory fees left after Pell and other grants, a $250 textbook stipend each semester, and a $50 monthly incentive ⁠⁷. In return, you meet monthly with an MT10 advisor, complete 30 credits a year, and refile the FAFSA ⁠⁷. Seats are limited by cohort. The University of Montana and Missoula College report that their 2026 cohort is already full ⁠⁶. To join a fall 2027 cohort, contact your campus’s Montana 10 office soon after admission.

No state FAFSA alternative and no statewide deadline

Montana does not publish a state aid application for students who cannot file the FAFSA. Promise, Gianforte and Montana 10 all require the FAFSA, and Promise and Montana 10 also require Pell eligibility ⁠¹⁠⁴⁠⁶. Students without a FAFSA can still look at campus foundation scholarships, but no state grant on this page is open to them.

There is also no state grant deadline. Each campus sets its own priority date. The University of Montana’s is December 1, and its page confirms that the 2027-28 FAFSA is open now for July 2027 to June 2028 ⁠⁹. Because Promise and Montana 10 money is first come, first served at the campus level, a December filing is the safest plan everywhere ⁠¹⁠⁹.

Pell and the Workforce Pell rollout in Montana

For July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the federal Pell Grant ranges from $740 to $7,395, prorated by enrollment ⁠¹⁰. Lifetime use is limited to the equivalent of 12 semesters ⁠¹⁰.

Workforce Pell pays for short programs of 150 to 599 clock hours. A program qualifies only after the governor certifies it and the U.S. Department of Education approves it. It also needs completion and job placement rates of at least 70% ⁠¹¹. People who already have a bachelor’s degree can receive it, and WIOA money can be combined with it ⁠¹¹. Montana is still building its process. A May 2026 MUS briefing to the Board of Regents described a draft State Workforce Innovation Board framework. Programs must have run for at least a year, meet the 70% thresholds, and line up with the Governor’s 406 JOBS sectors: healthcare, hospitality and recreation, construction trades, education and childcare, advanced manufacturing and computing, and financial and professional services ⁠¹². The 2026-27 WIOA State Plan update says Montana will prioritize Pell-eligible short-term training in those sectors ⁠¹⁵. As of October 20, 2026, we found no Montana program publicly listed as certified or approved. Ask your college whether a short certificate is in the queue.

WIOA training money through Job Service Montana

The Montana Department of Labor & Industry splits the state into two WIOA local areas. Adult and youth funds go to service providers chosen competitively, and all dislocated worker funds go to one provider, Job Service Montana ⁠¹⁵. You start at a Job Service office or request an appointment through the MontanaWorks Job Seeker Portal ⁠¹⁴.

Under DLI’s Individual Training Accounts policy, revised April 1, 2026, an ITA is a payment agreement for a program on Montana’s Eligible Training Provider List ⁠¹³. Before approving one, your case manager must find that you need training to reach self-sufficient wages and that the program links to a job. You must also have applied for financial aid, because Pell and every other non-loan source is used first ⁠¹³. The policy sets no statewide dollar cap. Instead, each ITA states its own maximum, cannot be amended after training starts, and is subject to available funds ⁠¹³. It can cover tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies and tools. If your Pell decision is still pending, WIOA can pay to get you started, and the school repays WIOA if Pell comes through ⁠¹³. To stay on the list in program years 2026 and 2027, providers must meet minimums of 71% employment in the second and fourth quarters after exit, $10,000 median quarterly earnings, and 55% credential attainment ⁠¹⁴.

Filing for 2027-28 in Montana, step by step

1. File the 2027-28 FAFSA by December 1, 2026

   List every Montana campus you are considering. That one form puts you in line for Pell, Promise and Montana 10 ⁠⁹⁠¹⁠⁶.

2. Settle residency early

   All three state programs require Montana residency under Board Policy 940.1. The 12-month clock runs before the term starts, so newcomers should ask the registrar how to document it ⁠²⁠⁴.

3. Check your Pell result

   If your FAFSA shows a maximum Pell award and you are going to a two-year or tribal college, ask the aid office to consider you for the Montana Promise Grant ⁠¹.

4. Apply for Gianforte separately

   Once you are enrolled in at least 6 credits in a listed program, submit the Award Montana application by February 1, 2027 for spring or September 1, 2027 for fall ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

5. Ask about Montana 10 after admission

   Pell-eligible first-time students should submit their campus’s interest form and attend the info session before the cohort fills ⁠⁶.

6. For short-term training, visit Job Service Montana

   Bring ID, income and work history, pick a program from the Eligible Training Provider List, and file the FAFSA too, since the ITA covers only what Pell does not ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴.

7. Reapply each term or year

   Promise and Montana 10 require a new FAFSA every year, and Promise is never guaranteed from one semester to the next. If your award is cut, ask for the campus satisfactory-progress appeal process, since students on warning or probation can still get Promise ⁠¹⁠⁷.

For other Montana help, see Montana’s state hub and the Montana energy and utility assistance guide.