Mining Engineering and Management Department

Contact Information

Dr. Kelli McCormick, Program Coordinator
Mining Engineering and Management Department
MI 235 A
(605) 394-1971
E-mail: Kelli.McCormick@sdsmt.edu

Faculty

Dr. Ivy Allard Senior Lecturer, Mr. Mark Bowron Lecturer, Dr. Andrea Brickey Associate Professor, Dr. Robert Hall Professor, Dr. Kelli McCormick Senior Lecturer, and Dr. Purushotham Tukkaraja Associate Professor.

MS in Mining Engineering and Management

The Master of Science in Mining Engineering and Management provides three specializations. The Minerals Industry Management and Mining Industry Applications Specializations are non-thesis degrees. The Mining Engineering Specialization requires a project or thesis to be completed. These specializations are designed to allow students the choice of expanding their knowledge in the minerals industry in either the technical, management or a combination of both areas. The course delivery is geared towards both campus and hybrid-distance delivery modes.

Research Areas

The department is active in research in the areas of mine health and safety, mine planning and design, rock mechanics, mining automation and technology, asset management and mine life cycle.

Degree Options

There are three specializations offered in the MS in Mining Engineering and Management as listed below. All are eligible for current BS students to enter as part of an accelerated MS.

Mining Engineering Specialization (thesis or non-thesis)

Minerals Industry Management Specialization (non-thesis only)

Mining Industry Applications Specialization (non-thesis only)

Accelerated MS option

SD Mines students accepted to the Accelerated MS option may apply up to 9 credits of 500/600 level MEM credits taken as an undergraduate toward both the BS and the MS degrees. Additional policies concerning accelerated MS degrees can be found in the requirements and policies applied to all graduate degrees by the Council of Graduate Education.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the Master of Science degree within the Department of Mining Engineering and Management, students will have:

An ability to identify, formulate, and solve problems related to the field of mining engineering;
An ability to analyze and design systems, components, or processes relevant to the field of mining engineering;
An ability to analyze and interpret data to support technical or management-related decisions in mining engineering;
An ability to present information clearly in both oral and written formats.

Financial support

Qualified students enrolled in the Mining Engineering Specialization with the thesis option may be eligible for financial support based on funding availability. All applicants are automatically considered for assistantships

Background requirements

The mining engineering coursework is geared primarily towards the working professional in the mining industry who requires distance delivery of the courses, although students can be admitted directly to the on-campus program. In either case, the student should have completed an appropriate undergraduate engineering degree, and for those holding a non-mining engineering undergraduate degree the applicant should have significant experience in the mining or underground construction industry. Additionally, an undergraduate course in probability and statistics is highly recommended.

Mining Engineering Specialization

Entry to this Specialization is available to students who are an Accelerated Graduate student in the South Dakota Mines BS in Mining Engineering & Management program, to those who have earned a BS or MS in Mining Engineering, and to those from Engineering degrees other than Mining Engineering.

Minerals Industry Management Specialization

Entry to this specialization is available to those with a BS/BA from an accredited University who have a minimum of three years employment in the Minerals Industry or related industry; or is a South Dakota Mines Accelerated Graduate student; or holds a BS or MS in Mining Engineering.

Mining Industry Applications Specialization

Admission requirements

Completed graduate application form.
$35 application fee.
One official transcript of prior academic work, sent directly to South Dakota Mines by the issuing institution, showing the undergraduate degree awarded.
The TOEFL exam is required for students whose native language is not English.
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for the Mining Engineering specialization only. The GRE requirement will be waived for students who have obtained their BS at SD Mines.
Three recommendation letters.
Admitted students will usually have a GPA of 3.0 or above and GRE scores greater than the 50th percentile.

Transfer credits

Policies for transferring credits from outside institutions can be found in the requirements and policies applied to all graduate degrees by the Council of Graduate Education. All transfers are subject to approval by the student’s advisor or advisory committee.

A maximum of 9 credit hours may be transferred from another accredited institution (400 level or above).