Program Overview

Introduction to the Earth Resources Development Engineering Program

The Earth Resources Development Engineering specialty is designed for individuals who wish to specialize in interdisciplinary fields that include understanding emerging technical and social issues in Earth Resources Development Engineering. This specialty is open to students with mining or non-mining engineering undergraduate degrees who are interested in scholarship and research on topics including, but not limited to:

• Mining and sustainability
• Mine closure and reclamation engineering
• Corporate social responsibility
• Artisanal and small-scale mining
• Underground construction and tunneling engineering
• Mining and the environment
• Modeling and design in earth systems and processes
• Geothermal
• Explosive engineering
• Mine and construction management
• Mining-related data science
• Earth observation for mine environmental monitoring
• Design and application of sensor networks, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for autonomous mine systems

Program Structure

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this degree program, students will be required to take three core classes in the Mining Engineering Department and then choose courses related to their area of interest offered by mining, as well as other departments across campus.

Degree Options

The Master of Science in Earth Resources Development Engineering has two MS degree options:

• Thesis (MS-T)
• Non-thesis (MS-NT)

For the PhD degree, students holding an MS degree in a relevant field may transfer, with the approval of the doctoral committee, a maximum of 30 credit hours of graduate course work towards the required credit hours for the PhD degree. The doctoral dissertation must be successfully defended before the approved doctoral committee."

Master of Science - Thesis (MS-T) Requirements"

Students in the ERDE MS-T program must take a minimum of 15 credit hours from within the Mining Engineering Department. These must include the required core courses unless waived by the Master's Thesis Committee. The requirements are as follows:"

• Course work credits (minimum): 21.0
• Research credits (maximum): 9.0
• Total credits (minimum): 30.0

Master of Science - Non-Thesis (MS-NT) Requirements

Students in the ERDE MS-NT program must take a minimum of 15 credit hours of course work from within the Mining Engineering Department. These must include the required core courses unless waived. A maximum of 9 semester hours of 400-level courses can be applied to the course credit hours required. The requirement is:

• Total course work credits (minimum): 30.0

Combined Undergraduate/Graduate Degree Program

Students enrolled in Mines' combined undergraduate/graduate program may double count up to six hours of credits which were used in fulfilling the requirements of their undergraduate degree at Mines, towards their graduate program. Any 400+ level courses that count towards the undergraduate degree requirements as "Elective Coursework" or any 500+ level course, may be used for the purposes of double counting at the discretion of the graduate advisor. These courses must have been passed with a "B-" or better, not be substitutes for required coursework, and meet all other University, Department, Division, and Program requirements for graduate credit.

Doctor of Philosophy Requirements

• Maximum of 48 semester credit hours of course work, where a maximum of 30 units can be transferred from an MS degree program.
• The student's Graduate committee must approve the transfer of these units.
• A minimum of 9 credit course hours must be taken in the Mining Engineering Department. These must include the required core courses listed below unless waived.
• A maximum of 9 semester hours of 400-level courses can be applied to the credit hours required.
• Course work credits (minimum): 48.0
• Research credits (minimum): 24.0
• Credit hours beyond the BS degree (required): 72.0

Additional PhD Requirements

• A minimum of 18 hours of course work must be completed at the Colorado School of Mines.
• A minimum of 9 credits beyond the Master's degree must be completed in the Mining Engineering Department.
• Exceptions may be approved by the PhD Dissertation Committee.
• Those with an MS in an appropriate field may transfer a maximum of 30 credit hours of course work towards the course work requirement, subject to the approval by the Advisor and doctoral committee.
• The doctoral dissertation thesis must be successfully defended before the doctoral committee.
• Assessment Exam, usually taken at the end of the first year in the PhD program.
• Minimum GPA requirement: 3.0/4.0.
• Thesis Proposal Approval.
• Comprehensive Exams, oral mandatory, written may be waived at the discretion of the Doctoral Committee.

Required Core Courses

For either the MS or PhD degree, the following course is required:

• MNGN510: Fundamentals of Mining and Mineral Resource Development (3.0 credits)

In addition, two of the following four courses are required:

• MNGN5XX: Sustainable Development and Earth Resources (3.0 credits)
• MNGN556: Mine Water and Environment (3.0 credits)
• MNGN5XX: Big Data Analytics for Earth Resources Sciences and Engineering (3.0 credits)
• MNGN528: Mining Geology (3.0 credits)

Prerequisites

Students entering the ERDE graduate program for either the master's or doctoral degree are expected to have completed the equivalent of an undergraduate ABET-accredited BS degree in some discipline of engineering. Deficiencies, if any, will be determined by the Department of Mining Engineering on the basis of a student's academic record and experience.