Mining Engineering Program returning to UTEP
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The University of Texas at El Paso announced the Mining Engineering Program will return in Fall 2027.
UTEP was established in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy at El Paso.
The previous Mining Engineering program was shut down in 1966.
University president Heather Wilson noted that last year, U.S. universities graduated only 312 mining engineers, while 500 mining engineering jobs are expected to open each year for the next 10 years.
"There is an $8 billion mining industry in the state of Texas with jobs that need to be filled," James Milliken, Chancellor of the University of Texas system said. "No other university in Texas is doing that today."
"A lot depends on our nation's ability to successfully mine critical minerals, including the future of electronics, health care, transport station, national security, and yes, energy," Wilson said.
"I wasn't sure we could do it, but when we took it to our faculty, they embraced it, as did the students," she added.
"Sometimes a lot of these big programs go to other universities a little further east, and on this one, they're making a big investment in UTEP."
