Why Mines?

Colorado School of Mines welcomes prospective students, industry partners, government and donors to advance our mission of protecting national security and global resilience, from critical mineral supply chains to advanced manufacturing and next-generation energy technologies.

As a right-sized, focused public R-1 engineering and STEM powerhouse, Mines combines academic rigor, top-tier research and industry-sponsored experiential learning. Our faculty, alumni and students garner the trust and confidence of the world’s leading innovators — across the critical domains of Earth, energy, materials and space.

Together, we rally great minds and new technologies to engineer tomorrow and solve the world’s most pressing challenges.

Underground Construction and Tunnel Engineering

Right-Sized

Colorado’s Focused Public R-1 Powerhouse Mines is a uniquely specialized research university: small, agile and deeply collaborative. With the scale of an R-1 and the cohesion of a tight-knit technical campus, Mines is built for lasting societal impact.

Right Purposed

Earth, Energy, Materials and Space The Mines community awakes each day set on advancing our understanding of the fundamental resources and technologies that power society. From critical minerals and advanced materials to clean energy, water, infrastructure and space systems.

Right Aimed

Driving Solutions for National Security and Global Resilience Mines research advances the technologies that strengthen U.S. security and competitiveness—from critical materials and energy security to advanced manufacturing, critical supply chains, quantum, geoscience and aerospace systems.

Right Fit

A Hands-On, Experience-Rich and Mentored Education Mines students graduate with the practical experience, technical depth and problem-solving mindset demanded by today’s industries. Mines prepares you to lead—in labs, in the field and in the industries shaping America’s next century.

America’s #3-Ranked School for ROI

Top 10 - Most Heavily Recruited Engineering Graduate

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

America's Agile STEM/Engineering School

Fast-Moving Majors

Mines adapts its programs at the speed of industry, updating majors and concentrations to match emerging technologies, new markets and national priorities. Students graduate with skills shaped for where engineering will lead — tomorrow and into the future.

AI/Machine Learning Driven

From data-driven design to intelligent systems and digital twins, Mines weaves AI and machine learning into the core of engineering education and research, preparing graduates to lead in a world where every discipline requires computational skills.

Talent Pipeline

Close partnerships with industry, national labs and government agencies create a robust pipeline of future-ready engineers. Mines graduates enter the workforce with hands-on experience, modern tools and the practical agility organizations depend on.

Prototype and Demo Culture

Test

Research Opportunities

The Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship (MURF) supports research assistants on faculty-led research projects. The First-Year Innovation and Research Scholar Training (FIRST) Fellowship provides up to a $1000 stipend, disbursed hourly, to compensate for your time spent on research. You will develop skills through research and other independent study opportunities in partnership with several research labs across campus, including:

Advanced Water Technology Center
Center for Environmental Risk Assessment
Center for Experimental Study of Subsurface Environmental Processes
Re-Inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure
Center for Underground Construction and Tunneling
ConocoPhillips Center for a Sustainable WE²ST

Research-grade Servo-hydraulic Testing System

You will work alongside faculty and researchers and learn to use the MTS 370 Load Frame for precise, programmable measurement of loads, displacements, and stresses (compression, tension, flexure (bending), fatigue) on various construction materials— concrete cylinders, steel bars, asphalt, wood, and composites—to evaluate their strength, durability, and mechanical behavior.

Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI)

The Critical Materials Innovation Hub is one of five nationally designated DOE Energy Innovation Hubs. Modeled on the Manhattan Project and AT&T’s legendary Bell Laboratories, the DOE Energy Innovation Hubs are integrated, multidisciplinary research centers that combine basic and applied research with engineering to accelerate scientific discovery and address critical energy issues.

Led by Ames National Laboratory, the CMI Hub unites expertise from national laboratories, universities, and over 30 industry partners to address supply chain challenges for materials critical to the energy transition. CMI researchers aim to accelerate innovative, scientific, and technological solutions that develop resilient and secure supply chains for rare earth metals and other critical materials essential to the success of clean energy technologies. The CMI Hub conducts research in four key focus areas: enhancing and diversifying supply, developing substitutes, building a circular economy, and undertaking cross-cutting research.

10-Year CMI Hub Highlights

12 R&D 100 Awards
202 Invention Disclosures
50 U.S. Patents
20 Technologies Licensed
635 Peer-Reviewed Publications
$80+ Million in Additional Government Awards

Colorado: Adventureland

Our location in Golden, Colorado provides the perfect launchpad for adventure in every season. Miles of ski slopes, iconic backpacking and biking trails, climbing routes, canyons and rivers sit right outside our door. Hike before class, ski on weekends, join legendary races, or kayak through the heart of town.

Mines and Colorado's Innovation Partners

Money
Forbes
Track Field
Geogetown
US Track & Field

About Mines

Academics

Research

Student Experience

Admission & Aid