Colorado School of Mines
Graduate School
Colorado School of Mines is a public research university devoted to engineering and applied science. It has the highest admissions standards of any university in Colorado and among the highest of any public university in the U.S. CSM has distinguished itself by developing a curriculum and research program that is geared towards responsible stewardship of the earth and its resources. In addition to strong education and research programs in traditional fields of science and engineering, CSM is one of a very few institutions in the world having broad expertise in resource exploration, extraction, production and utilization. As such, CSM occupies a unique position among the world's institutions of higher education.
The Community
Golden, located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, offers dozens of cultural and recreational opportunities. Although only 15 miles due west of Denver, Golden - a community of 15,000 people - has the ambiance of a quiet mountain town. Many of Colorado's famous ski areas are only an hour away by car, and with more than 300 sunny days annually, you can enjoy hiking, biking, camping and other outdoor activities year-round. Trails, mountains, streams and open space are all within walking distance from campus. Nearby Denver is the hub of business and cultural activities in the Rocky Mountain West. The city offers everything from professional sports, concerts, and outdoor festivals to museums, the opera, and the zoo. Lower downtown Denver, or LoDo, is a thriving entertainment district with restaurants, nightclubs, comedy clubs, and Coors Field. Short distances away, Boulder and Central City offer additional entertainment.
Programs of study
The School offers Master of Science, Master of Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy, and professional degrees with an enrollment of approximately 800 graduate students from around the world. With a graduate student-to-faculty ratio of just over 4 to 1, CSM offers a personalized education unavailable at other universities. Advanced degrees are offered in chemical engineering and petroleum refining, chemistry, engineering systems, environmental science and engineering, geochemistry, geology and geological engineering, geophysics and geophysical engineering, materials science, mathematical and computer sciences, metallurgical and materials engineering, mineral economics, mining and earth systems engineering, petroleum engineering, and physics.
The MS and MEng degrees require a minimum of 24 credits of coursework, 12 credit hours of research, and a thesis or engineering report. Nonthesis Masters programs require 36 hours of coursework. The PhD degree requires 90 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, of which the PhD thesis shall be no less than 30 hours. Each doctoral candidate is required to take a minimum of 12 hours of graduate credit in a minor field outside the major department. Professional degree programs emphasize graduate-level work and require a minimum of 30 hours of coursework. These programs are designed for individuals who have been employed professionally and have the desire to enhance their education or who wish to change careers. Graduate certificates are offered in International Political Economy and require two 15-hour sequences of coursework.
Facilities & Resources
The Arthur Lakes Library is a specialized technical library that supports educational and research goals of the School and also serves as a regional center for information in engineering, science and associated fields. The Academic Computing and Networking Center provides computing and networking services to meet instructional and research needs. Access to resources is made available from nearly all locations on campus. An INTERLINK Language Center is located on the CSM campus for those international students who need additional training in the English language.
CSM maintains 25 research centers and institutes dedicated to various aspects of research in the fields of environment, minerals, energy, and materials. Major areas include exploration, mineral and petroleum production, environmental sciences and engineering, fuels science and engineering, materials science and engineering, automated and expert systems, and bioengineering (including bioenergy, biomaterials, and intelligent biomedical devices).
Located within a short distance from campus are valuable research facilities, including those of the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. CSM’s proximity to the University of Colorado and Colorado State University provides opportunities for collaborative research and study in a wide variety of fields.
Expenses and Aid
Tuition for full-time students is $3850 per semester for state residents and $11,515 per semester for nonresidents. For part-time students taking fewer than 10 credits, the tuition is $385 per credit for residents and $1,352 per credit for nonresidents. Student fees are $331 per semester, and health insurance costs approximately $400 per semester.
Graduate student housing and family housing is available on-campus and off-campus and ranges from $530 to $945 per month depending on the number of bedrooms.
Financial aid in the form of graduate research and teaching assistantships, as well as industrial and government fellowships, is available to full-time graduate students on a competitive basis. Financial assistance is provided to approximately 70% of all full-time graduate students. Financial aid in the form of federal student loans is also available.
How to Apply / Application
Interested individuals wishing to apply for graduate studies should provide a duplicate set of transcripts from previous colleges, GRE scores, and three letters of recommendation along with the application. Applications are available in paper and on-line formats. Departments will consider a student’s undergraduate curriculum, GPA, GRE scores, research goals, and recommendations when making an admissions decision. The average accepted student has a GRE score of 1820 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.2. Students with undergraduate degrees in fields outside of science or engineering will need to take deficiency coursework before beginning their graduate studies. Students should contact the department of interest to determine what classes are required. International Students
Who to contact
Colorado School of Mines
Office of Graduate Studies
1500 Illinois St.
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: (800) 446-9488 (within U.S.); (303) 273-3247
Fax: (303) 273-3244
E-mail: grad-school@mines.edu
URL: http://www.mines.edu
Graduate school URL: http://www.mines.edu/Admiss/grad
The Faculty and Their Research
Chemical Engineering: Dr. James Ely, Head (303-273-3720), Dr. Tony Dean, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3643). Surface and interfacial engineering, membranes, fuels science, theoretical and computational thermodynamics, thermophysical properties, polymers, new materials, mathematical modeling, dermal transport, gas hydrates; Colorado Institute for Fuels and High Altitude Engine Research.
Chemistry and Geochemistry: Dr. Paul Jagodzinski, Head (303-273-3622), Dr. Pat MacCarthy, Chemistry Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3626), Dr. Craig Simmons, Geochemistry Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3644). Environmental chemistry, exploration geochemistry, biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry, fossil fuel chemistry, alternative clean fuels, catalysis and surface chemistry, polymer chemistry, surface analysis, computational materials chemistry, separation science.
Economics and Business: Dr. Roderick G. Eggert, Head (303-273-3981), Dr. Gene Woolsey, Operations Research Program Coordinator (303-273-3484), Dr. Carol Dahl, IFP Program Coordinator (303-273-3921), Kelly Crose, Division Administrator (303-273-3979). Applied microeconomics; natural resource economics; quantitative methods; energy and mineral markets; international trade and economic development; environmental policy and compliance; business and investment decision making, including operations research/operations management; decision making under uncertainty; discounted cash flow analysis; financial risk management; corporate finance. International joint-degree program in petroleum economics and management with the Institut Français du Pétrole; joint-degree program with the University of Denver School of Law.
Engineering Systems: Dr. Joan Gosink, Director; Dr. Robert Kee, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3379). Analytical design, automated systems, biomedical systems, combustion, computer modeling of engineering systems, energy conversion, geotechnical and structural engineering, granular mechanics, intelligent automated systems, mechanics and materials, neural network applications, offshore mechanics, process simulation. Center for Advanced Control of Energy and Power Systems; Center for Automation, Robotics and Distributed Intelligence; Center for Combustion and Environmental Research; Center for Intelligent Biomedical Devices and Musculoskeletal Systems, Geomechanics Research Center, Particle Science and Technology Group.
Environmental Science and Engineering: Dr. Robert Siegrist, Acting Director (303-384-2158), Tim VanHaverbeke, Graduate Program Assistant (303-273-3467). Environmental transport processes, physical/chemical/biological waste treatment, wetlands processes, applied ecology, environmental chemistry and radiochemistry, acid mine drainage treatment, aquatic toxicology and hazardous waste site remediation.
Geology and Geological Engineering: Dr. Murray Hitzman, Head (303-384-2127), Dr. Greg Holden, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3855). Predictive sediment modeling, aquifer-contaminant flow modeling, waste management, water-rock interactions, petroleum geology, mineral deposits, economic geology, geotechnical engineering, environmental geology, groundwater engineering, petrology, structural geology.
Geophysics: Dr. Terence K. Young, Head (303-273-3454). Applied geophysics, including seismic exploration, gravity and geomagnetic fields, electrical and electromagnetic mapping and sounding, ground-penetrating radar, petrophysics, borehole geophysics, well logging, groundwater exploration and exploitation, seismic hazard mitigation, seismic data processing, mathematical geophysics, environmental and geotechnical geophysics. Center for Wave Phenomena; Reservoir Characterization Project; Center for Petrophysics; Gravity and Magnetics Research Consortium; Geophysics Field Camp; Near-Surface Seismology Group; Rock Physics Laboratory; Physical Acoustics Laboratory.
Materials Science: Dr. John J. Moore, Program Director (303-273-3660), Dr. David Olson, Lead Scientist and Program Coordinator (303-273-3955). Bonding theory, ceramics, coatings, composites, surface engineering, thin-films and advanced coatings, electronic materials, joining science, materials chemistry, mechanics of materials, metal and alloy systems, phase transformations, photovoltaic materials, polymeric materials, solid-state physics, solid-state thermodynamics, structural and structured defects, surfaces/interfaces, transport and kinetics; Center for Welding and Joining Research; Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics; Colorado Center for Simulation of Materials and Engineering; Advanced Coatings and Surface Engineering Laboratory; Center for Solar and Electronic Materials; Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center.
Mathematical and Computer Sciences: Dr. Graeme Fairweather, Head (303-273-3860), Dr. Alyn Rockwood, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3874). Numerical analysis, scientific computing, mathematical finance, dynamical systems, symbolic computing, wave propagation, direct and inverse scattering, inverse problems, time series, biostatistics, epidemiological methods, pattern recognition, computer vision, data mining, knowledge-based systems, computer networking, mobile computing, distributed computing, software engineering. Center for Wave Phenomena; Center for Automation, Robotics and Distributed Intelligence.
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering: Dr. John J. Moore, Head (303-273-3770), Dr. Gerald Martins, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3798). Physical and mechanical metallurgy, physicochemical processing (extractive metallurgy and waste processing, materials synthesis and processing, materials process modeling and control), ceramic engineering, metals, intermetallics, ceramics, glasses, thin films, coatings, surface engineering, photovoltaics, electronic materials processing, corrosion, forming, castings, welding, electroceramics, composites and smart materials of these components. Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center; Center for Welding and Joining Research; Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics; W. J. Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy; Colorado Center for Simulation of Materials and Engineering; Center for Solar and Electronic Materials; Advanced Coatings and Surface Engineering Laboratory.
Mining Engineering: Dr. Tibor G. Rozgonyi, Head (303-273-3700). Mine evaluation and planning, geostatistics, underground excavations, rock mechanics, mechanical fragmentation, mine productivity analysis, intelligent decision support systems, mechanical excavation systems, mineral processing. Earth Mechanics Institute; Edgar Experimental Mine; Western Mining Resource Center.
Petroleum Engineering: Dr. Craig W. Van Kirk, Head (303-273-3740), Dr. Erdal Ozkan, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3188). Reservoir management; field development; computer simulation; geostatistics; interdisciplinary integration of petroleum engineering, geology, and geophysics; petroleum economics; enhanced oil and gas production; subsidence; drilling in space and laser drilling; well completion design; sand control; dynamic rock mechanics; petrophysics; geochemistry; hydrocarbon hydrates; multiphase flow in pipelines; fluid flow in porous media; and environmental issues.
Physics: Dr. Jim McNeil, Head (303-273-3844), Dr. Reuben Collins, Graduate Program Coordinator (303-273-3851). Condensed-matter physics and materials science: photovoltaics; surface physics; nanophysics; scanning probe microscopy; high-pressure physics; granular materials; X-ray, electron, Mössbauer, and Raman spectroscopies; theoretical condensed-matter physics; X-ray scattering. Nuclear physics: experimental low-energy nuclear physics, theoretical nuclear physics, high-temperature fusion plasma diagnostics, nuclear astrophysics, environmental nuclear physics. Applied optics: ultra-short pulses, optical properties of interfaces and surfaces, laser physics and quantum optics. Center for Solar and Electronic Materials; Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space.