Colorado School of Mines

Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on energy and the environment. While Mines does offer undergraduate minor programs in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, it only offers degree programs in STEM fields, with the exception of economics. In the Fall 2023 semester, the school had 7,101 students enrolled, including 5,443 undergraduate and 1,658 graduate students. The school has been coeducational since its founding but enrollment remains predominantly male (68.5% as of Fall 2022). It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

19th century
Golden, Colorado, established in 1859 as Golden City, served as a supply center for miners and settlers in the area. In 1866, Bishop George M. Randall of Massachusetts arrived in the territory and, seeing a need for higher education facilities in the area, began planning for a university which would include a school of mines. In 1870, he opened the Jarvis Hall Collegiate School in the central building of the Colorado University Schools campus just south of the town of Golden, accompanied it with Matthews Hall divinity school in 1872, and in 1873 the School of Mines opened under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. In 1874 the School of Mines, supported by the territorial government since efforts began in 1870, was acquired by the territory and has been a state institution since 1876 when Colorado attained statehood. Tuition was originally free to residents of Colorado.

In 1878, Jarvis Hall's main building and Matthews Hall were both destroyed by fires in the span of two days. The School of Mines building was the only structure of the complex left standing. Following the fires, the School of Mines enrollment grew, consisting of prospectors and mine owners. A school library was established with $250, and a gymnasium was built to support the growing student body. The school's fight song, "The Mining Engineer", the first two verses of which are still sung today, was established on campus by 1885.

Following the 1880s, the School of Mines transitioned to become a 4-year university, removing its assaying certificate program. Around this time, silver and blue began to be seen as the official school colors. In 1894, Engineering Hall was completed. As the oldest building on campus, Engineering Hall originally housed the physics and drafting departments, but now houses the Division of Economics and Business. The following year, the CSM Alumni Association was founded with members wearing the first instance of the school's Reuleaux triangle symbol. In 1898, Florence Caldwell became the first female graduate of the School of Mines, earning a Civil Engineering Degree.

20th century
At the turn of the century, the School of Mines officially changed its name to the Colorado School of Mines. This marked the start of a long period of investment into Mines. In 1905, Simon Guggenheim donated $80,000 for the construction of Guggenheim Hall, which serves as the school's administration building. On nearby Mount Zion, student Herbert Everest designed a large M made out of rocks for his senior thesis, which was constructed by 20 faculty and 250 students. Also on Mt. Zion, the first experimental mine owned by the Colorado School of Mines was opened. Known as the School Tunnel, it served to train mining engineers until 1921, when the Edgar Mine was purchased and the original School Tunnel was abandoned.

In 1919, tensions between the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Denver resulted in Colorado Governor Oliver Shoup threatening intervention after students from Mines held DU students and local news reporter Bill Bliss hostage in Golden.

During World War II, Mines was one of 227 universities that participated in the Army Specialized Training Program by the War Department. The program focused on training students in practical engineering skills for military service.

21st century


In August 2007, a new student recreation center was completed. In 2008, the school finished expanding its main computer center, the Center for Technology and Learning Media (CTLM). In May 2008 the school completed construction and installation of a new supercomputer nicknamed "Ra" in the CTLM managed by the Golden Energy Computing Organization (GECO), a partnership among the Colorado School of Mines, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Science Foundation. In 2014, CoorsTek granted a $27 million investment to the university, leading to the 2017 opening of the CoorsTek Center for Applied Science and Engineering, a multi-disciplinary building on campus dedicated to both academic and research activities.

Since 1964, the Colorado School of Mines has hosted the annual oil shale symposium, one of the most important international oil shale conferences. Although the series of symposia stopped after 1992, the tradition was restored in 2006.

Presidents

 * Edward J. Mallett – 1873
 * Gregory Board – 1875
 * Milton Moss – 1878
 * Albert C. Hale – 1880
 * Regis Chauvenet – 1883
 * Charles S. Palmer – 1902
 * Victor C. Alderson – 1903
 * William G. Haldane – 1913
 * William B. Phillips – 1915
 * Howard C. Parmelee – 1916
 * Victor C. Alderson – 1917
 * Melville F. Coolbaugh – 1925
 * Ben H. Parker – 1946
 * John W Vanderwilt – 1950
 * Orlo E. Childs – 1963
 * Guy T. McBride, Jr. – 1970
 * George S. Ansell – 1984
 * Theodore A. Bickart – 1998
 * John U. Trefny – 2000
 * Myles W. Scoggins – 2006
 * Paul C. Johnson – 2015

Campus


Colorado School of Mines is located to the southwest of Golden's downtown, bordered by U.S. Route 6 and Clear Creek. The campus spans 373 acre, and includes over a dozen academic and research buildings, indoor and outdoor athletic facilities, two student centers, a library, eight residential halls, and administration buildings. Additionally, the campus hosts a research building for the United States Geological Survey, housing the National Earthquake Information Center.



Colorado School of Mines also operates the free admission Mines Museum of Earth Science, which displays rock and mineral specimens collected from Colorado's numerous mining districts, as well as around the world. Notable objects in the collection include one of the "Goodwill" Apollo 17 lunar samples and the Miss Colorado crown.

Labriola Innovation District
The Labriola Innovation District, composed of McNeil Hall, xWorks, and the Labriola Innovation Hub (InnoHub), was opened in early 2024. Named after Frank and Mary Labriola, the InnoHub's 37,000 square feet and supporting buildings host the capstone design program, student design competition teams, and students' entrepreneurial and personal endeavors. The InnoHub also consists of a machine shop, woodworking shop, composite workshop, electronics lab, tool rental center, additive manufacturing lab, and open-build space for student use.

McNeil Hall contains classrooms dedicated to cornerstone and capstone design classes, as well as a large parking structure. The Mines Police Department, Lock Smith, Environmental Health and Safety, and Parking Services are also based on the first floor.

Beck Venture Center
The Beck Venture Center provides business mentorship and support for students and faculty to build businesses. Multiple venture capitalists, angel investors, and engineering consultants maintain offices in the Venture Center to support the campus business ecosystem. Mines, through the Beck Venture Center, is one of ten members of the western division of the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps Program, which provides students and faculty with grants to pursue their inventions.

Edgar Experimental Mine
The Edgar Experimental Mine is the primary educational mine owned by Mines in Idaho Springs. The mine was originally a silver and gold mine founded in 1870 by the Big Five Mining Company. It was acquired by Mines in 1921 after Big Five declared bankruptcy. Edgar Mine is primarily used to train mining engineers, although it is also used by various state and federal agencies to develop a wide range of products and techniques, including the U.S. Army's tunnel detection program, which built one of the mine's two portals.

The mine features a fully operational mine railway, internet system, and classroom. In addition to being used by mining engineers, it is also used by electrical, biological, and civil engineering students for various projects. The property also contains an outdoor explosives lab used by researchers and educational creators, like the Slow-Mo-Guys.

In 2023, the FreePort-McMoRan Foundation gave $1 million to modernize Edgar Mine.

Academics
Mines began the world's first graduate program in space resources in the fall semester of 2018, offering both master's and PhD degrees.

Thorson First-Year Honors
The Thorson First-Year Honors program replaces two freshman-level classes with Thorson-specific classes that emphasize the intersections of STEM and the humanities. Students apply to the Thorson Honors program before beginning their freshman year at Mines. Each cohort of Thorson Scholars is split into seminar sessions led by interdisciplinary faculty teams that dive into critical thinking, design, communication, and ethical problem solving. Thorson Honors students who are also approved for the Mines Study Abroad Program are given the opportunity to study in Antibes, France for their first semester.

Grandey First-Year Honors
The Grandey First-Year Honors program uses a leadership lens and a maker mindset to educate its scholars in principles of problem solving, team communication, and project management. Similar to the Thorson First-Year Honors Program, the Grandey Honors Program replaces two freshmen-level classes with small seminar classes led by a rotating team of expert faculty.

McBride Honors
The McBride Honors Program in Public Affairs integrates the liberal arts with science and engineering. Accepting about 40 students per year, the McBride Honors Program places a high emphasis on internships, particularly in public policy, industry, and the non-profit sector.

To graduate with McBride Honors, scholars must complete a series of specialty classes as well as a self-designed practicum. Past practica have included studying abroad, landscape painting, and making documentaries. Practicum funding is typically provided by the scholar and program aid, depending on the scholar's needs.

Harvey Scholars
The Harvey Scholars program attracts students with a passion for service. Programming includes luncheons with donors Hugh and Michelle Harvey, community-wide service activities, off-campus retreats, and small group dinners.

A Harvey Scholarship covers full tuition and mandatory fees for eight semesters at Mines. It also includes travel and enrichment grants to support study abroad programs, research pursuits, and professional development.

Vanguard and Caldwell Scholars
The Vanguard and Caldwell Communities of Scholars are for highly motivated female students who embody leadership skills and a desire to improve our world through science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These service leadership programs develop transformational leaders through professional development, community service, and academic success opportunities over the course of four years.

As members of the Vanguard and Caldwell communities, scholars benefit from vertically integrated support within the cohort, access to women faculty and campus leadership, in addition to financial assistance. The Caldwell students receive a full tuition scholarship and are identified as students who demonstrate a commitment to the legacy and ideals of Florence Caldwell. Vanguard scholars receive a partial scholarship and are identified as students who will lead the way in making advances in STEM for society upon graduation.

Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship (MURF)
The Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program provides funding for full-time undergraduate students to collaborate with campus researchers. This provides students with an opportunity to participate in research projects under the mentorship of Mines faculty in every field represented at Mines. Some past research MURF students have contributed to includes research on Particle Physics, Explosives Engineering, and Oceanography.

Rankings

 * Tied for 36th in U.S. News & World Report's 2024 "Top Public Schools" in the U.S.
 * 52nd in U.S. News & World Report's 2024 "Best Engineering Graduate Schools" in the U.S., with the Petroleum Engineering program ranked third.
 * Tied for 76th in U.S. News & World Report's 2024 "Best National Universities Rankings".
 * 83rd out of 174 schools ranked in Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's 2019 "Best Values in Public Colleges."
 * 27th in Niche's "Best Colleges for Engineering in America"

Undergraduate admissions
For freshmen entering Fall 2021, Colorado School of Mines received 12,022 applications, accepted 6,838 (56.9%) and enrolled 1,449 (12.1% of those who applied). The middle 50% range of SAT scores for the enrolled freshmen was 650–720 for evidence-based reading, and 660–750 for math, while the ACT Composite range was 29–33. The average GPA was 3.84. Of the incoming class, 32.7% were women.

M Climb
Freshmen students at Colorado School of Mines are expected (but not required) to participate in the M Climb during orientation week. During this climb, students carry a ten-pound rock up Mt. Zion. Before ascending up the mountain, students are given colored hard-hats, which are spray-painted by members of the Blue Key Honor Society. Along the climb, non-freshmen encourage the new students with water balloons, silly string, and lead the new students in learning the Mines' fight song. At the top of the mountain, students place their rock on the "M," a large sign made of rocks in the shape of Mines' M logo, and paint the M white using whitewash. On graduation, seniors are invited to take a rock from the M as a keepsake of their time at Mines.

E-Days
Beginning in 1934, Mines students have celebrated Engineering Days during the spring semester. During E-Days, classes are canceled and students attend a variety of events beginning with the ore cart pull. Students take turns pulling an ore cart down 7.5 miles of Colfax Avenue to the state capitol building, where the governor of Colorado officially declares the start of E-Days. E-Days continues with field events, tech demos, concerts, comedians, manual mining competitions, and a trebuchet contest. The next morning, teams race cardboard boats down Clear Creek, competing to see which team sails the farthest before sinking. A carnival is held during the day and the Formula SAE club hosts a car show.

Silver Diplomas
The tradition of awarding silver diplomas was started in 1934 by Charles Hull, an Instrument Designer at Mines. Since then, every graduate receives a silver diploma upon graduation from Mines. In 1935, President Herbert Hoover, who was a guest at the commencement ceremonies, was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Engineering for his contribution in translating De re metallica from Latin to English.

Blaster the Burro
In the 1930s, a Golden local began to bring his burro to football games. The burro quickly became the school mascot, now known as "Blaster the Burro". Blaster is represented by two separate burros, both racing burros from Idaho Springs, Colorado. Both are known as Blaster while at Mines.

Engineer's Hats
Around 1890 as a celebration of graduation, graduates of Mines received their "Engineer's" hat. These hats were worn by engineers while working underground, and whenever a visitor to a mine wanted to talk to the engineer, they were told to go find the guy in the funny hat. Today, graduates receive one of two versions of the Engineer's hat, to be signed and branded upon graduation.

Athletics
Colorado School of Mines was ranked best NCAA DII school in the U.S. for student-athletes, according to Next College Student Athlete's 2022 NCSA Power Rankings. The NCSA Power Rankings recognize the best colleges and universities in the U.S. for student-athletes.

In 2022, the Orediggers won their third national title in men's cross country, posting the largest margin of victory in meet history with 143-points. In December 2022, Oredigger football played in their first NCAA Division II national championship in McKinney, Texas, and lost to Ferris State 41-14.