Master of Science in Mining Engineering

The Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering offers programs leading to the degree of Master of Science in mining engineering. The students can elect to pursue in one of the following specialization fields, such as, mine design, rock mechanics, mine ventilation, computer applications, automation, material handling, mine management, operations research, and mineral economics.

Admission Requirements

A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required in order to be accepted as a graduate student. For full graduate standing, at least 30 credits of undergraduate work in mining engineering or related sciences must have been completed.

In addition, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 for four years of undergraduate work.
  • Earn acceptable scores on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE test, and present letters of recommendation from former instructors indicating capability for advanced course work and research.
  • International students are required to meet the English test requirements (TOEFL/IELTS/PTE). Refer to UNR Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) webpage for specific English requirements.

Prospective graduate students should send all their application material directly to the Graduate School. The department does not accept any application material directly from the prospective students.

Graduate Assistantships

The department offers several graduate fellowships i.e. Research Assistantships (RA) and Teaching Assistantships. Requests for teaching assistantships should be submitted to the department prior to March 15, but all applications will be considered regardless of date of submission. Requests for research assistantships must be submitted directly to the corresponding professors in the department.

M.S. in Mining Engineering Options

Students must choose between the following two options (Plan A or Plan B):

Plan A: Thesis Option

This plan requires students to write and successfully defend a thesis. General university requirements for graduating with Plan A:

  • Students must complete at least 30 credits of acceptable graduate courses.
  • Students must complete 6 thesis credits (MINE 797)
  • Student must complete 12 non-thesis credits at the 700 level.
  • Student must complete at least 21 credits through on-campus courses at the university. For transfer credits, please consult the Graduate Director.

Plan B: Non-thesis Option

This plan requires students to pass a written comprehensive examination (MINE 795 – 1 credit) given by the department covering recommended core courses. The candidate will have the option to choose four courses out of total six courses listed under recommended core courses. Students must earn a passing grade/satisfactory grade on each of those four subject areas with only two attempts allowed. Students who do not pass the exam after two attempts will be dismissed from the graduate program. Requirements for graduating with Plan B are:

  • Students must complete at least 32 credits of acceptable graduate courses.
  • Students must complete at least 18 credits of 700 level courses.
  • Students must complete at least 23 credits through on-campus courses at the university. For transfer credits, please consult the Graduate Director.
  • Students must complete 1 credit comprehensive exam course (MINE 795).

Specific Course Requirements

The following are the list of recommended core courses and approved technical elective courses for mining engineering program:

Recommended Core Courses (total 12 credits)*

  1. MINE 615R Surface Mine Design(2 credits) ( or) MINE 616 Underground Mine Design (2 credits)
  2. MINE 648 Rock Mechanics(4 credits)
  3. MINE 644 Mine Environmental Control (3 credits)
  4. MINE 613 Mineral Reserve Estimation(3 credits) ( or) GE 743 Geostatistics (3 credits)

Technical Electives (total 12 to 19 credits)

Typically the mining engineering advisor or the student advisory committee customizes the technical elective courses based on the needs and interests of the student in specialty areas. Listed below are some approved electives:

  1. MINE 611 Mine Economics(2 credits)
  2. MINE 618 Mine Feasibility (3 credits)
  3. MINE 622 Advanced Mineral Processing(3 credits)
  4. MINE 625 Engineering Power (3 credits)
  5. MINE 635 Robotics (3 credits)
  6. MINE 645 Rock Excavation (2 credits)
  7. MINE 672 World Mineral Economics (3 credits)
  8. GE 683 Geological Eng. Slope Stability (4 credits)
  9. MINE 695 Special Problems (3-6 credits)
  10. MINE 701/702 Advanced Mining
  11. CEE 704 Applied Finite Element Analysis (3 credits)
  12. ME 720 Continuum Mechanics (3 credits)
  13. MINE 725 Heat Mass Transfer(3 credits)
  14. MINE 745 Advanced Rock Mechanics(3 credits)
  15. ME 751 Computational Structural Analysis (3 credits)
  16. STAT 755 Multivariate Data Analysis(3 credits)
  17. MINE 791 Graduate Seminar (3 credits max)
  18. MINE 796 Professional Paper (3 credits max)

Other Program Requirements

The following deficiencies to be made up by students with B.S. degrees other than mining engineering:

  1. Students who have a B.S. degree in a physical science or other fields (e.g., geology, physics, chemistry, economics, etc.), must:
    • pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, or satisfactorily complete (i.e., with a cumulative B average) a minimum of 12 credits of basic engineering courses to have a reasonable chance of passing the FE (e.g. this requirement can be met taking courses such as Statics, Dynamics, Strength of Materials, Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Electricity).
    • have an adequate preparation in geology, i.e. a minimum of 6 credits in geology, taken from GEOL 211, GEOL 332, GEOL 385, or equivalent.
    • have basic mining knowledge, e.g., a course in mining methods or broad varied industrial mining experience, and, prior to or as part of the graduate program, no fewer than 6 credits of mining engineering classes.
  2. Students, who have a B.S. degree in Engineering from an accredited or equivalent engineering school, must:
    • have an adequate preparation in geology, i.e. a minimum of 6 credits in geology, taken from GEOL 211, GEOL 332, GEOL 385, or equivalent.
    • have basic mining knowledge, e.g., a course in mining methods or broad varied industrial mining experience, and, prior to or as part of the graduate program, no fewer than 6 credits of mining engineering classes.

General Remarks

  • *Students who have completed some or all of the recommended core courses as upper classmen during their bachelor’s degree at UNR may be exempted from some or all of the core course requirements. The program director/graduate committee must then approve any such changes in writing.
  • *Any student wishing to change recommended core courses must petition the program director/graduate committee of the Department of Mining & Metallurgical Engineering in writing. The program director/graduate committee must then approve any such changes in writing.
  • The program director/graduate committee has to approve in writing any changes in the requirements for the comprehensive exam topics for any graduate student.
  • Graduate students with the help of their advisor must form a graduate committee and submit his/her initial program of study for approval before start of his/her second year as graduate student in Mining & Metallurgical Engineering Department.

For more information about graduate school admissions, please visit http://www.unr.edu/grad/admissions

Program Contact Info

Contact Mining Engineering faculty if you have any questions about admissions procedures.

Graduate Program Director:
Manoj Mohanty
(775) 784-6963
mmohanty@unr.edu

Mining & Metallurgical Engineering Chair:
Javad Sattarvand
(775) 784-6608
jsattarvand@unr.edu