Academics at Mines
Mines is a public school with an undergraduate enrollment of about 5,200 students. It is unapologetically STEM-oriented, but they also have Economics and Business Engineering and Management Science degrees. These business programs, however, have a purposeful scientific lens. BEMS, for instance, teaches how to conduct business in an increasingly data-driven world. For balance, they have a humanities department offering minors in Culture, Creativity and Communication, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Music Engineering and Recording, and Teaching.
What draws students to Mines are the many opportunities to apply their classroom learning to real-world experiences. Field Sessions, when Orediggers go out and practice and apply what they have learned, is a student favorite. These sessions encourage students to use practical techniques and recently learned skills to attack local and/or global challenges.
Student Outcomes
Mines strives to incorporate communication skills and business acumen into its STEM curriculum to ensure that its graduates have the soft skills desired by employers. Students are experienced and strong team players. As a result, their graduates are so sought after that there are typically more recruiters at their career fairs than there are eligible students.
Student Resources
Colorado School of Mines is growing fast and opening new spaces offering engaging experiences to prepare its students for productive roles in their chosen fields. Their Entrepreneurship and Innovation space was recently opened in McNeil Center. Students can also meet venture capitalists, lawyers, and other business professionals at the Venture Center to help them launch their businesses, even as undergrads! Additionally, a new geoscience makerspace opened in June which gives students opportunities to create prototypes related to earth observation. There seems to be an available resource for almost any interest.
Traditionally Untraditional
They have traditions but don’t like to think of themselves as traditional. For instance, they have a long celebration weekend in April. There are bands and events all weekend long, but the highlight is the cardboard boat-building competition. Participants clamber into these “boats” and race them in the frigid waters of Clear Creek through the middle of town. Motivation is high to build a well-engineered vessel!
Orediggers’ athletic teams compete at the NCAA DII level. Football gets wide school support, and the team is consistently ranked. Men’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball are other athletic powerhouses. Interestingly, the largest club participation on campus their 12 performing music ensembles. Mines also has a Greek system with stately-looking houses right across the street. The “Great Outdoors,” however, provides the most popular activities. The student body loves to recreate outside. If you don’t, this might not be the best school for you.
Admissions
Mines admits to the university as a whole, not by major. Applicants can apply as undecided and no majors are capped or competitive. I am not the only person who only recently heard of Mines, so until a few years ago, they had drawn applicants mostly from Colorado. Admissions to Mines are becoming much more selective due to their new, widespread popularity. Mines is not for everyone, so they look for demonstrated interest. They want to know that the applicants have taken the time and the initiative to understand their programs and their student body culture.
I walked onto their campus expecting to be impressed, but this school hit it out of the ballpark. Their focus on providing practical applications for their students to enhance their employment opportunities is beyond compare. I left feeling that these students can and should have high expectations about their futures.