Michigan Technological University

Updated on Sep 30, 2024

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Motto Create the Future Established 1885 President Glenn D. Mroz Acceptance rate 75.5% (2014) Mascot Blizzard T. Husky		Type Public Endowment $96.2 million (2016) Academic staff 473 Total enrollment 7,238 (2015) Phone +1 906-487-1885

Address 1400 Townsend Dr, Houghton, MI 49931, USA Undergraduate tuition and fees Local tuition: 14,040 USD (2015), Domestic tuition: 29,520 USD (2015) Colors Black, Metallic Gold, Silver, Gold Notable alumni Kanwal Rekhi, Andy Sutton, Joe Berger, Tony Esposito, Randy McKay Similar Northern Michigan University, Michigan State University, Ferris State University, Finlandia University, Lake Superior State Uni Profiles Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Google+

Michigan Technological University (commonly referred to as Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on 925 acres (374 ha) on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake. Michigan Tech was founded in 1885 as the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and was created to train mining engineers to operate the local copper mines.

Science, technology, forestry and business have been added to the numerous engineering disciplines, and Michigan Tech now offers more than 130 degree programs through its five colleges and schools. US News and World Report ranked Michigan Tech's undergraduate program 116th in the nation based on peer assessment, student selectivity, financial resources and other factors. Michigan Tech was also rated among the "Best in the Midwest" by The Princeton Review.

Michigan Tech's athletic teams are nicknamed the Huskies and compete primarily in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The men's hockey team competes in Division I as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), and has won three national championships. The women's basketball team were national runners-up in 2011.

History

Michigan Tech was founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School. After much agitation by Jay Abel Hubbell, the state legislature established the school to train mining engineers. Hubbell donated land for the school's first buildings.

The school started with four faculty members and twenty-three students. It was housed in the Houghton Fire Hall from 1886 through 1889.

A few years after the school's creation, enrollment grew to such a point that its name no longer reflected its purpose. The name was then changed to the Michigan College of Mines in 1897. This name lasted through World War I until 1925, but by this time the school had begun offering a wider variety of degrees and once again decided to change its name to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1927.

By 1931 enrollment had reached nearly 600. During the next few years, due to the Great Depression, money was scarce, causing department heads and even the president of the university, William Hotchkiss, to take pay cuts.

Grover C. Dillman was president from 1935 to 1956. During this time, the school underwent many notable changes, including the construction of the Memorial Union Building and purchase of an ice rink and golf course.

Around 1948, enrollment passed 2000 students total.

In 1956, J. Robert Van Pelt became the new president of the university. He restarted many PhD programs and created a focus on research. This included the school's first analog computation class in 1956–1957.

In the final years of his presidency, the school changed from a college to a university, changing its name a final time to Michigan Technological University. The change from the Michigan College of Mining and Technology was necessary for two reasons, according to Van Pelt. First, the college had expanded too greatly and the current name was no longer an accurate title. Also, including "mining" in the name of the college was misleading. The name "Michigan Technological University" was chosen in order to retain the nickname "Michigan Tech" that had already been in use since 1927.

Although engineering still accounts for some 59 percent of all enrollment as of fall 2010, the university now offers more than 130 degree programs.

Along with its new name, the school also gained new constitutional status in 1964. This gave responsibility for control of the university to its Board of Control rather than legislature.

Campus

The main Michigan Tech campus is located mainly on US 41 in Houghton, Michigan. It is the safest campus in Michigan, and the third safest in the United States, according to Reader's Digest. The main part of campus is relatively small, and can be traversed in about 10 minutes. Many of the buildings are tall, reducing the physical size of the campus and giving the impression of being a park of high-rise office buildings. The offices of the Michigan Tech Fund are located in the First Merit Bank Building in Hancock. The Lakeshore Center in downtown Houghton houses the offices of Human Relations, Vice President for Research and other departments.

Faculty are involved in several distance education programs with clients including General Motors.

The Portage Lake Golf Course opened for play in April 1902. In 1945 the members could no longer support the needs of the course and sold it to Michigan Tech for one dollar. Since then many improvements have been made such as the addition of another nine holes in 1969. Then in 1984 the new clubhouse was constructed. In 1996 a sprinkler system was installed to modernize the course and keep it playable. The Portage Lake Golf Course is located two miles (3 km) southeast of campus.

Academics

Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, natural and physical sciences, computing, business and economics, technology, environmental studies, arts, humanities, and social sciences. The university is divided into five schools and colleges. The average overall ACT scores for incoming students is 26.4 in fall 2010, compared to 21.2 nationally. It currently has the highest tuition of all public universities in Michigan, exceeding both Michigan State and the University of Michigan. The College of Engineering's environmental engineering and mechanical engineering enrollments rank in the top ten nationally and their respective graduate programs are ranked in the top 50 in the US. The electrical engineering department uses an innovative "DSP First" curriculum found at only a few leading universities.

The College of Engineering. Its departments are biomedical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, electrical and computer engineering, chemical engineering, materials science and engineering, and geological and mining engineering and sciences.

The College of Sciences and Arts has majors in fields including bio-informatics, biological sciences, biochemistry, cheminformatics, chemistry, computer science, kinesiology and integrative physiology, mathematics, pharmaceutical chemistry, physics, psychology, and social sciences. It includes one of the largest technical communications programs in the United States. The College is also home to the education, theater, Air Force ROTC, and Army ROTC programs.

The School of Business and Economics is accredited by AACSB. Students can receive a bachelor of science degree in seven areas, including accounting, economics, finance, management, management information systems, marketing, and operations and systems management. The undergraduate program includes a unique Business Development Experience, where students gain real-life business experience in a mentored environment. Students also have the opportunity to join several business student organizations, including the Applied Portfolio Management Program where they invest $1 million in the stock market each year.

The School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science has been recognized nationally for excellence in its research program, and its PhD program was ranked fourth in the nation by Academic Analytics in 2007. The School maintains greenhouses, labs, and the 4,000-acre (16 km²) Ford Forest and Ford Center in nearby Alberta, and celebrates its 75th year in 2011.

The School of Technology includes degree programs in Computer Networks and System Administration, Electrical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Surveying Engineering, Construction Management, and Industrial Technology.

Michigan Tech has also developed an alternative program to provide students with engineering and other design experience called the Enterprise program. Enterprises develop engineering skills by allowing students to work in business-like environments on real-world projects while completing their education. Enterprises include Nanotechnology Innovations, Hybrid Transportation, Aerospace, Blue Marble Security, Husky Game Development, Boardsports Technologies, and Wireless Communications Enterprises.

Student body

The student body consists of more than 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students (Fall 2011) and more than 450 academic faculty (Fall 2010). As is historically true of engineering institutions, female enrollment at Michigan Tech is low. The male to female student ratio was 22:1 in 1960; since 1980 it has remained around 3:1. Michigan Tech's admissions office has enlisted female students and faculty to contact every admitted female applicant via telephone or personal letter in an attempt to increase female enrollment. The Fall 2010 freshman class had a ratio of 3.1:1. In the Fall 2012 semester, female enrollment rose for the 6th straight year to reach a then all-time high of 1,837 students. This put women up to 26.1%.

Michigan Tech students are primarily from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. The student body is approximately 75.4% European-American/Non-Hispanic, 14.2% International, 1.6% Hispanic, 1.5% percent African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.6% Native American, 1.0% Multiracial, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and the remaining 4.5% was not supplied. The university has recently focused on achieving a more diverse student body, in terms of ethnicity, gender, and areas of study. A key step in this effort was the recent introduction of several new academic majors, including psychology, biochemistry and molecular biology, cheminformatics, communication and culture studies, pharmaceutical chemistry, exercise science, sound design, audio production, and theater and entertainment technology.

Research

Michigan Tech ranked 172nd of 600 US colleges and universities in research and development expenditures in 2007. Research expenditures exceeded $50 million in 2009.

Student life

Students attending Michigan Technological University have a wide range of activities to participate in, whether or not they are living in the residence halls. In addition to the various small interest groups which form throughout the year, they participate in Greek Life, Student Organizations, and the Enterprise Program; many organize and attend campus traditions, such as K-Day, the Parade of Nations, and the Winter Carnival (which also attracts alumni from across the country); furthermore, there are motivational drives to raise student activity levels and involvement in the school community, typically for those without membership in a student organization.

Student organizations

Michigan Tech currently recognizes more than two hundred student organizations, including:

The Daily Bull, satirical daily entertainment press newspaper; often prints current campus and world news in some form or other

Alpha Phi Omega, Epsilon Lambda chapter, national co-ed service fraternity

Mu Beta Psi, Zeta chapter, national honorary musical fraternity

The Alpha (first) chapter of Alpha Sigma Mu, nationwide metallurgical and materials engineering honors fraternity

Blue Key, an affiliate of the National Blue Key honor society, which organizes the annual Winter Carnival

The pride of Pastyland, the cream of the Keweenaw, the second best feeling in the world, the Huskies Pep Band.

Turkish Students Association at MTU, a cultural, non-political, non-religious and non-profit organization; aims to promote and preserve Turkish culture and heritage on MTU campus and in the community

The Michigan Tech Lode, award-winning weekly student newspaper

Undergraduate Student Government

WMTU-FM, student-run radio station

Film Board, screens theatrical features at a low cost to students and other members of the Michigan Tech community

Society of Women Engineers, promotes and supports female diversity in STEM fields; for over six decades, SWE has given women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering industry; MTU's section of SWE held the 2014 Region H Conference Feb 14- 16, 2014

Engineers Without Borders, an affiliate of EWB-USA; works on international engineering projects in developing communities

Omega Chi Epsilon, the Chemical Engineering Honor Society; a member of the National Omega Chi Epsilon

Greek life

Michigan Tech is currently host to thirteen fraternities, including three international and three local fraternities. Additionally, there are eight sororities on campus, including four local sororities.

Athletics

As the school mascot is the husky (specifically, Blizzard T. Husky), the school's sports teams are known as the "Huskies". Michigan Tech competes in the NCAA's Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The men's hockey team competes in Division I as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Michigan Tech owns a downhill ski/snowboard hill, Mont Ripley, just across Portage Lake from campus, and maintains extensive cross-country ski trails (used for mountain biking in summer).

The men's hockey team competes in Division I as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), and has won three national championships. The women's basketball team were national runners-up in 2014-2015 season.

School songs

Michigan Tech has both an official fight song and an official Alma Mater. At most sporting events, however, both the "Engineer's Song" and "In Heaven There Is No Beer" are played by the Huskies Pep Band, and many students consider these to be the unofficial school songs. The "Blue Skirt Waltz" is played at home ice hockey games and is called the "Copper Country Anthem." During the song, the fans join arms and swing back and forth to the music.

Special events

The first Friday of the fall term is K-Day (Keweenaw Day), a university-sponsored, half-day holiday hosted by Greek Life. It is primarily celebrated at nearby McLain State Park. Activities include a student organizations fair, games, swimming, and music.

Michigan Tech has celebrated Homecoming since 1929.

Each fall Michigan Tech hosts Parade of Nations.

Winter Carnival is where students compete in a variety of artistic and athletic events. The highlight of Winter Carnival is a snow statue competition in which students construct snow and ice sculptures consistent with an annual theme.

In spring, Michigan Tech hosts Spring Fling, which celebrates the coming end of the school year. Local talent plays on stage, carnival games are offered, free food can be found, and the entire campus is transformed into a festival.

In the summer Michigan Tech hosts the Summer Youth Program (SYP), Women in Engineering (WIE), Engineering Scholars Program (ESP), and National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) to introduce high school students to college opportunities.

During June and July, Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts is one of the main venues for the Pine Mountain Music Festival

Michigan Tech holds two world records, the largest snowball (21' 3" circumference) and largest snowball fight (3,745), which they accomplished in 2006, as verified by Guinness World Records officials. They originally held three world records, the third of which was the most people making snow angels simultaneously in a single venue (3,784). This record was taken from the city of Bismarck, ND, but about a year later, Bismarck took the record back with 8,962 snow angels.