Mechanical Engineering

Why choose Mechanical Engineering?

Opportunity. Versatility. A close-knit community. Hands-on experience. Theory turned into practice. Challenge. Fun. Our students tell you why they chose ME at Mines »

Mechanical Engineering by the numbers

1,275
undergraduate students

221
master’s and doctoral students

39
faculty

$65,977
2018 average starting salary for BSME graduates

$11.9 million
awarded research in
fiscal year 2019

85%
undergrads who complete internships

140
companies, national labs and universities
that hire our grads

#21
in BSME degrees awarded (out of 267 schools)
reported by ASEE Engineering by the Numbers

Student Highlights

ME undergrad Claire Thomas receives prestigious aerospace fellowship

ME junior Taryn Tucker receives 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Award for her work to develop Girls on the Rise

“What really sets Mines apart from other universities are the people that help make all the success possible.”

see more student highlights »

undergraduate program

graduate program

Faculty & Research Highlights

Dr. Xiaoli Zhang is the lead researcher on a $1 million NSF project to create an AI-enabled tool for retraining workers in the metals industries.

Mines wins Boeing-NSF award to engineer online learning. ME faculty Craig Brice and Jenifer Blacklock are on the project leadership team.

Dr. Andrew Petruska won a $620K grant from the Alpha Foundation to use machine learning-enabled acoustic imaging to help first responders navigate underground mine emergencies.

Mechanical Engineering’s Greg Jackson is collaborating with OxEon Energy on a $1.8 million NASA project that could bring interplanetary fuel stations one step closer to reality.

Dr. Joel Bach directs the Human Centered Design Studio, a two-semester capstone course at Mines focused on developing adaptive equipment for people (and sometimes animals) with disabilities.

Dr. Garritt Tucker has been awarded a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Army Research Office for work designing a new class of multi-layered nanocomposites that exhibit unprecedented mechanical strength and toughness.