Type Public President Dr. Stephen G. Wells Undergraduates 1,532 (Spring 2015) Acceptance rate 36.4% (2014) Phone +1 575-835-5434 Colors Silver, Gold | Established 1889 Academic staff 171 Postgraduates 489 (Spring 2015) Graduation rate 44.9% (2014) Endowment 16.1 million USD | |
Address 801 Leroy Pl, Socorro, NM 87801, USA Undergraduate tuition and fees Local tuition: 6,256 USD (2015), Domestic tuition: 18,184 USD (2015) Notable alumni Conrad Hilton, Don Tripp, Dave Thomas, Axel Scherer, Jason Harper Similar University of New Mexico, New Mexico State Uni, New Mexico Highland, Eastern New Mexico U, Western New Mexico U Profiles | ||
Campus tour of the new mexico institute of mining and technology
The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (also called New Mexico Tech, and originally known as the New Mexico School of Mines) is a university located in Socorro, New Mexico.
Contents
- Campus tour of the new mexico institute of mining and technology
- History
- Research and teaching
- Affiliated science and engineering centers
- Recent national rankings
- National Center of Academic Excellence
- School culture and student life
- New Mexico Tech on television
- Notable alumni
- References
New Mexico Tech offers over 30 bachelor of science degrees in technology, the sciences, engineering, management, and technical communication, as well as graduate degrees at the masters and doctoral levels. According to Newsweek in 2010, New Mexico Tech was considered one of the best small science and engineering schools in North America. A National Science Foundation study of Baccalaureate Origins of S&E Doctorate Recipients in the U.S. ranked New Mexico Tech as 15th in the nation, as well as the number one ranked public institution.
History
New Mexico Tech is a relatively small (approximately 2,100 students as of 2012) research- and teaching-oriented university focused on science and engineering. The institution was founded by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature in the year 1889 as the New Mexico School of Mines to both boost the territorial economy and teach mining specialties on the college level. During the 1930s, petroleum engineering and technology also became an important field of study at the institute. In 1946, New Mexico Tech began offering graduate degrees. The institute adopted its current name in 1951, but the change was not legally effective until 1960, when its name was changed by an amendment of the New Mexico State Constitution, Art.XII, Section 11.
Research and teaching
New Mexico Tech's well-known areas of research and teaching include hydrology, astrophysics, atmospheric physics, geophysics, information technology, information security, Earth Science, energetic materials engineering, and petroleum recovery. Federal funding from the Department of Homeland Security and other sources has fostered significant training and research programs in this area (even going so far as to allow the university to purchase Playas, New Mexico, a former company town, as a field site). Because of its especially strong research programs, the school offers numerous scholarships and unique research opportunities for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a very high professor to student ratio of approximately one professor per twelve students. In addition to its strong focus on science and technology, New Mexico Tech has seen much recent growth in the humanities and social sciences. Minors are now available in history, Latin American studies, and philosophy, in addition to minors in science and engineering fields. The university's most recent NCA reaccreditation was in October 2004.
Affiliated science and engineering centers
In 2003 the university bought the town of Playas, New Mexico for use as a research and training facility for the university’s first responders and counter-terrorism programs.
Recent national rankings
National Center of Academic Excellence
The school is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE/IAE). This brings several major scholarships and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.
School culture and student life
NMT hosts an annual Performing Arts Series that is free to students, and, along with the broader Socorro community, city, and county, supports a great number of special events each year. New Mexico Tech is located approximately an hour south of Albuquerque in a region of high deserts to subalpine mountains that offers considerable outdoor recreation opportunities, including rock climbing, road and mountain biking, a triathlon, and hiking opportunities. New Mexico Tech also hosts numerous active student clubs, a Part 15 AM radio station, and a biweekly student newspaper, Paydirt. The campus also includes an 18-hole championship golf course.
The campus population has historically been predominantly male, but it has moved increasing towards a balance between the sexes, with women now equal with men in most majors. The recently admitted class of 2013 has an overall male to female ratio of approximately 3:1, but this ratio is highly variable between departments.
New Mexico Tech has nine different halls/apartments for students: West Hall (Male Only), Driscoll Hall (Female Only), Torres Hall (Co-Ed), Presidents Hall (Co-Ed), Baca Hall (Co-Ed), and South Hall (Co-Ed), Ben D. Altamirano Student Apartments, Desert Willow Apartments, and Mountain Springs Apartments.
The campus also has a 150,000 gallon outdoor swimming pool that goes from a depth of 4 feet to 11 feet. During the winter months, it is covered to allow swimming to continue during cold weather.
Each summer, NMT hosts the Summer Science Program, which teaches astronomy to high school students.
New Mexico Tech on television
A number of television shows have focused on New Mexico Tech faculty, students, and research. TruTV's Man vs. Cartoon features attempts by Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center to re-create contraptions and situations found in Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons. MythBusters, National Geographic Explorer, BBC Horizon and Nova have also featured Tech in various episodes. Another TV show featuring Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, Blow Up U, began filming in the spring of 2009.