Our Story

RESILIENT PROBLEM SOLVERS. DRIVEN INNOVATORS. PASSIONATE LEADERS. AMBITIOUS ENTREPRENEURS.

For nearly 150 years, Colorado School of Mines students, faculty and alumni have embodied these qualities and filled these roles while driving positive change in areas related to earth, energy and environment. Now, we’re pushing the limits of what’s possible.

Click through to read our story >>

A fresh start. Seemingly limitless possibilities. A desire to fill empty pockets with newfound riches. Moving west seemed like an ideal situation for many during the depression-ridden 1800s, and it didn’t take much more than a whispered rumor of the promise of gold to lure those looking to change their fate to try their luck in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

About 100,000 people headed for the state during the Colorado Gold Rush, but only 50,000 completed the journey. Half of those who made it to the Pike’s Peak territory soon ran out of luck and went home. The 25,000 who stayed built Colorado and carved out much of the foundations of our knowledge of mining, geology and other earth sciences.

In the 1860s, a man with a vision—Bishop George M. Randall—rode into Golden, Colorado, intent on taming the gold-and-silver-crazed Wild West. As a prospector supply center during the Colorado Gold Rush, Golden was the perfect place to start his mission. Randall brought higher education to the frontier, building a small campus of three buildings: Jarvis Hall, a preparatory/military school; Matthews Hall, a divinity school; and a School of Mines. Only one of those endured.

Since the school’s beginnings in 1874, Mines has emphasized education in science and technology, with early courses offered in chemistry, metallurgy, mineralogy, mining engineering, geology and mathematics. Graduates quickly became leaders in their fields, shaping and growing various industries into what they are today and finding solutions to some of the biggest engineering and scientific challenges all around the world.

“Mines has grown into a university that makes better people—not just great engineers—out of all the great students we get. We help them develop and grow their whole selves, be it through music, through athletics, through poetry, through helping people in Nepal. We’re really helping the student develop their passions. And that’s one of the things that makes Mines special.”

RAMONA GRAVES PhD ’82, EMERITUS PROFESSOR

But the college experience isn’t just about academics. Over the years, Mines built a robust and dedicated community that started a series of traditions to build out and define what it means to be an Oredigger. Experiences such as the annual M Climb when students trek up to the “M” on the side of Mt. Zion overlooking campus to add a rock and coat the symbol in fresh whitewash provides an unofficial start to their Mines journey. Other traditions, such as E-Days each spring, celebrate what it means to be an Oredigger and the uniqueness of Mines. These traditions have become pillars of the Mines experience and continue to be moments of pride and fun during the academic year.

“E-Days was always about connecting with my friends and classmates. We’d meet up to go to the best fireworks show I’ve ever known or have brunch before watching the cardboard boat races. Lots of oohs, aahs and laughter!”

TIFFANY BREWSTER ’07

In addition to the many traditions the student body created over the years, collegiate athletics was also crucial to building Mines pride and the Oredigger spirit. Mines’ 16 Division II teams regularly earn athletic, academic and sportsmanship award, including several NCAA Championships, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference all-sport competition cups and more. Oredigger athletes are some of the most successful students at Mines—both on the field and in the classroom—showing that the opportunities for Mines students are limitless.

Follow the latest news from Mines Athletics

“At Mines, it’s the best engineering school in the nation, and we have to put in a lot of hard work when we come here. Everyone on this team does, and everyone here is so bright and so smart—it makes all the hard work worth it.”

JASON ZOBOTT, MEN’S SOCCER CAPTAIN

In the years since it was founded, Mines has grown significantly—both in terms or campus infrastructure and to accommodate a changing world. The past 150 years has seen significant advancements in science and technology, and Mines responded with new specialties and new areas of study in an effort to tackle new challenges.

Of course, as we look back on the past 150 years, we’re inspired to look forward at what’s to come. Using our expertise in earth resources and the environment, we’re leading groundbreaking research in these areas and expanding ideas of what’s possible in others—such as mining on the Moon and exploring how humans and robots can work together.

Take a virtual campus tour Learn more about our programs

“Mines, in my humble opinion, is the go-to place in the world for tackling issues of earth, energy and the environment. No place else that I am aware of is preparing undergraduate or graduate students or doing the research necessary to ensure we continue to raise the standard of living of the world and solve some of our most pressing challenges.”

BRUCE GREWCOCK ’76

While Mines may be focused on changing the world, we’re also turning out attention closer to home by building a more inclusive campus community where all can thrive. With new events such as Oredigger Camp combined with traditions like the M Climb and wellbeing initiatives such as Every Oredigger, we’re ensuring all Orediggers are an active part of the Mines community and can reach their full potential.

Watch Oredigger Camp video Learn about Every Oredigger

“The goal for me was to make sure people walked away ready to join the Mines community and excited about what’s in store. There’s a lot of things that you can say about our community, but the most important one is Mines has helluva lot of pride. This camp was made with the intention of bringing that pride out of our incoming students.”

ERIC KRESSIN ’18, FORMER OREDIGGER CAMP COUNSELOR

Mines is a place where things get done. And after nearly 150 years, we have a lot to show for that. We also still have a lot more to do. As we approach this milestone, we both celebrate what’s been done and what we aim to do next.

“We will spend the years leading up to our 150^th anniversary taking bold steps to make Mines ever more the institution our students, alumni and society needs us to be. We will need partners for the climb, but no nudges. We’re off—and intend to keep a wicked pace.”

PRESIDENT PAUL C. JOHNSON

View Strategic Plan

See where Mines is headed next as we approach our 150^th anniversary and beyond.

Contribute to Mines' success

MINES@150

RESILIENT PROBLEM SOLVERS. DRIVEN INNOVATORS. PASSIONATE LEADERS. AMBITIOUS ENTREPRENEURS.

For 150 years, Colorado School of Mines students, faculty and alumni have embodied these qualities and filled these roles while driving positive change in areas related to earth, energy and environment. Now, we’re pushing the limits of what’s possible.

Click through to read our story >>

A fresh start. Seemingly limitless possibilities. A desire to fill empty pockets with newfound riches. Moving west seemed like an ideal situation for many during the depression-ridden 1800s, and it didn’t take much more than a whispered rumor of the promise of gold to lure those looking to change their fate to try their luck in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

About 100,000 people headed for the state during the Colorado Gold Rush, but only 50,000 completed the journey. Half of those who made it to the Pike’s Peak territory soon ran out of luck and went home. The 25,000 who stayed built Colorado and carved out much of the foundations of our knowledge of mining, geology and other earth sciences.

In the 1860s, a man with a vision—Bishop George M. Randall—rode into Golden, Colorado, intent on taming the gold-and-silver-crazed Wild West. As a prospector supply center during the Colorado Gold Rush, Golden was the perfect place to start his mission. Randall brought higher education to the frontier, building a small campus of three buildings: Jarvis Hall, a preparatory/military school; Matthews Hall, a divinity school; and a School of Mines. Only one of those endured.

Since the school’s beginnings in 1874, Mines has emphasized education in science and technology, with early courses offered in chemistry, metallurgy, mineralogy, mining engineering, geology and mathematics. Graduates quickly became leaders in their fields, shaping and growing various industries into what they are today and finding solutions to some of the biggest engineering and scientific challenges all around the world.

“Mines has grown into a university that makes better people—not just great engineers—out of all the great students we get. We help them develop and grow their whole selves, be it through music, through athletics, through poetry, through helping people in Nepal. We’re really helping the student develop their passions. And that’s one of the things that makes Mines special.”

RAMONA GRAVES PhD ’82, EMERITUS PROFESSOR

But the college experience isn’t just about academics. Over the years, Mines built a robust and dedicated community that started a series of traditions to build out and define what it means to be an Oredigger. Experiences such as the annual M Climb when students trek up to the “M” on the side of Mt. Zion overlooking campus to add a rock and coat the symbol in fresh whitewash provides an unofficial start to their Mines journey. Other traditions, such as E-Days each spring, celebrate what it means to be an Oredigger and the uniqueness of Mines. These traditions have become pillars of the Mines experience and continue to be moments of pride and fun during the academic year.

“E-Days was always about connecting with my friends and classmates. We’d meet up to go to the best fireworks show I’ve ever known or have brunch before watching the cardboard boat races. Lots of oohs, aahs and laughter!”

TIFFANY BREWSTER ’07

In addition to the many traditions the student body created over the years, collegiate athletics was also crucial to building Mines pride and the Oredigger spirit. Mines’ 16 Division II teams regularly earn athletic, academic and sportsmanship award, including several NCAA Championships, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference all-sport competition cups and more. Oredigger athletes are some of the most successful students at Mines—both on the field and in the classroom—showing that the opportunities for Mines students are limitless.

Follow the latest news from Mines Athletics

“At Mines, it’s the best engineering school in the nation, and we have to put in a lot of hard work when we come here. Everyone on this team does, and everyone here is so bright and so smart—it makes all the hard work worth it.”

JASON ZOBOTT, MEN’S SOCCER CAPTAIN

In the years since it was founded, Mines has grown significantly—both in terms or campus infrastructure and to accommodate a changing world. The past 150 years has seen significant advancements in science and technology, and Mines responded with new specialties and new areas of study in an effort to tackle new challenges.

Of course, as we look back on the past 150 years, we’re inspired to look forward at what’s to come. Using our expertise in earth resources and the environment, we’re leading groundbreaking research in these areas and expanding ideas of what’s possible in others—such as mining on the Moon and exploring how humans and robots can work together.

Take a virtual campus tour Learn more about our programs

“Mines, in my humble opinion, is the go-to place in the world for tackling issues of earth, energy and the environment. No place else that I am aware of is preparing undergraduate or graduate students or doing the research necessary to ensure we continue to raise the standard of living of the world and solve some of our most pressing challenges.”

BRUCE GREWCOCK ’76

While Mines may be focused on changing the world, we’re also turning out attention closer to home by building a more inclusive campus community where all can thrive. With new events such as Oredigger Camp combined with traditions like the M Climb and wellbeing initiatives such as Every Oredigger, we’re ensuring all Orediggers are an active part of the Mines community and can reach their full potential.

Watch Oredigger Camp video Learn about Every Oredigger

“The goal for me was to make sure people walked away ready to join the Mines community and excited about what’s in store. There’s a lot of things that you can say about our community, but the most important one is Mines has helluva lot of pride. This camp was made with the intention of bringing that pride out of our incoming students.”

ERIC KRESSIN ’18, FORMER OREDIGGER CAMP COUNSELOR

Mines is a place where things get done. And after nearly 150 years, we have a lot to show for that. We also still have a lot more to do. As we approach this milestone, we both celebrate what’s been done and what we aim to do next.

“We will spend the years leading up to our 150^th anniversary taking bold steps to make Mines ever more the institution our students, alumni and society needs us to be. We will need partners for the climb, but no nudges. We’re off—and intend to keep a wicked pace.”

PRESIDENT PAUL C. JOHNSON

View the Strategic Plan

See where Mines is headed next as we approach our 150^th anniversary and beyond.

Contribute to Mines' success

As Colorado School of Mines prepares for our 150th anniversary in 2024, dynamic and disruptive change is all around us. We must navigate an increasingly competitive higher education landscape, respond to the changing education and innovation needs of industry and society and not be complacent from current and past accomplishments. MINES@150 is our plan to position Mines for future success.

Who we are and where we’re headed

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See what’s next for Mines

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Leadership

Community

Partnerships

Research

STEM

Access

Leadership

Mines is a pioneer at the frontiers of science and engineering, from locating and recovering earth resources, to new energy production processes, new materials, advanced manufacturing processes, health innovations and space exploration. We create transformative and enduring value through the students we graduate, the discoveries we make and the challenges we solve for industry and society.

#1 for career return on investment.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Space Resources

PFAS Research

Mines offers more than 200 student organizations on campus.

Community

The Oredigger community is unlike any other. We are a group of high-achieving, game-changing, passionate individuals who come together to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges while supporting one another along the way. With a vibrant campus culture, new traditions that bring us together and resources to support the wellbeing of all, Mines ensures everyone is able to be an active part of the Oredigger community and has the opportunities to reach their full potential.

On-Campus Living

New Traditions

Every Oredigger

Partnerships

One of the things that makes Mines unique is our close partnerships with industry, government and other education-focused entities. We work closely with others to spur innovation and develop new technologies, advance research and solve complex problems. Mines is a preferred partner for many, and the opportunities for collaboration are endless.

Mines and the USGS have been close partners for more than 40 years.

CoorsTek

U.S. Geological Survey

Catalyst HTI

Mines experienced 25% growth in research funding in fiscal year 2019, making Mines a preferred partner for industry and government entities.

Research

Mines has long been inspired by the changing needs of society and driven the creation of new technology to address those needs. With an ever-expanding research portfolio, a more social research culture and diverse funding sources, Mines continues to tackle some of the most difficult challenges in earth, energy and environment.

Research

Technology Transfer

STEM Education

Mining may be in our name, but we do so much more. And by expanding our offerings and diversifying the ways in which we deliver some of our programs—in particular for professionally oriented pre- and post-graduate education—Mines will continue to produce distinctive graduates who will create positive change and make the world a better place.

Mines has the #8 highest return on investment in the nation, according to Payscale.

Graduate Programs

Online Learning

Return on Investment

Mines has the largest collegiate section of the Society of Women Engineers in the U.S.

Access

At Mines, we’re all about individuality and out-the-box thinking. After all, that’s how we make scientific breakthroughs and develop game-changing ideas. By providing support services and resources for everyone in the Oredigger community, Mines is working toward a more inclusive and equitable environment for all and being a place that is accessible and attractive to qualified students from all backgrounds.

Diversity, Inclusion & Access

International Students

Student Support

Learn more about MINES@150.

Mines@150 Campaign