Departments are organized in accord with historical context; persistent degree offerings; and origination (for example, created by announcement; merger; significant reorganization). Supporting information sources include Mines Catalogs/Bulletins, Mines Magazine, and President's Reports.
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Mining / Mining Engineering Department, 1881.
Established with a persistent degree (E.M.) by 1881 and appears as such in the 1881 Catalog. Walter Wiley and William Middleton, the School of Mines' first graduates, earned their E.M. in 1883. [Alternately, 1874 could be recommended as a celebration anniversary as the primary purpose of the Territorial School of Mines was to educate mining engineers.]
Metallurgy / Metallurgical Engineering / Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Department, 1890.
Established with a persistent degree (M.E) by 1890. The Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Department celebrated its centennial in 1990.] Charles Comstock reportedly earned the first Metallurgical Engineering degree in 1890.
Geology / Geological Engineering Department, 1922.
Established with a persistent degree of Geological Engineer (Geol.Eng.) in 1922. Thomas Gray, Philip Schwab, Henry Skinner and Ronald Walker were reportedly the first to earn a Geological Engineer degree in 1924.
Petroleum Engineering Department, 1922.
Created in 1922 as the new Petroleum Engineering Department. Established a persistent degree of Petroleum Engineer (P.E.) in 1922. Announced as a department for the 1921-22 academic year and appears first in the 1922-23 Catalog. Nathaniel Mueller and Howard Flint were reportedly the first to earn P.E. degrees in 1922. 1948--The Department was divided into the Petroleum Production Engineering and Petroleum Refining Engineering departments. 1951--Again listed in the Catalog as the Petroleum Engineering Department.
Geophysical Engineering / Geophysics Department, 1926.
Created in 1926, reportedly making it the first geophysical engineering program in the US. Appears first in the 1927-28 Catalog with a small offering of senior and graduate-level courses. Established a persistent degree of Geophysical Engineer (Geop.E.) in 1949. Homer Opland earned the first Geophysical Engineer degree (Masters) in 1949; about 30 undergraduates earned Geop.E. degrees in 1950.
Petroleum Refining Engineering / Chemical & Petroleum Refining Engineering / Chemical Engineering & Petroleum Refining / Chemical & Biological Engineering Department, 1948.
Created in 1948 with the split of the Petroleum Engineering Dept. into Petroleum Refining Engineering and Petroleum Production Engineering. It offered a persistent degree of Pet.Ref.E. in 1948. About a dozen undergraduates earned this degree in 1948, and 2 master's degrees were also awarded in 1948. 1967--Became the Chemical & Petroleum Refining Department. 1985--Became the Chemical Engineering & Petroleum Refining Department. 2011--Became the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department with the formation of the College of Applied Science & Engineering.
English & Other Humanistic Social Sciences / Humanities & Social Sciences Department, 1958.
Created in 1958 as English & Other Humanistic Social Sciences, non-degree granting department, with a merger of the departments of Economics and English & Modern Languages (which were separate courses of study/instruction from the 1920s onward to 1958). 1970--Listed as the Humanities & Social Sciences Department in the Catalog, with the removal of the Mineral Economics program in 1969. 1991--The Division of Liberal Arts & International Studies (LAIS) is formed from the merger of Humanities & Social Sciences, Global Systems & Cultures, EPICS and the McBride Honors Program in Public Affairs. 2011--Became the Department of Liberal Arts & International Studies with the formation of the College of Earth Sciences & Engineering. 2018--Appears in the Catalog as the Department of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (HASS).
Basic Engineering / Engineering Department, 1960.
Created in 1960 as a non-degree granting department, with the merger of 4 non-degree granting departments--Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Graphics and Mechanical Engineering. The Engineering Department's roots date back to 1922, when degrees in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering were intermittently offered and rarely awarded. [A notable exception is the School of Mines' first woman graduate, Florence Caldwell, C.E. (Civil Engineer) 1898.] 1974--Established as degree-granting with a B.S. in Mineral Engineering. 1983--Renamed the Engineering Department. 2011--The Engineering Department is split into the degree-granting departments of: Civil & Environmental Engineering; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering with the formation of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences.
Chemistry / Chemistry & Geochemistry Department, 1963.
Established with a persistent degree of B.S. Mineral Engineering-Chemistry in 1963. This was part of the creation of the 1963 Mines Chemistry-Mathematics-Physics B.S. program. 1975--Listed as the Chemistry & Geochemistry Department in the 1975-76 Catalog.
Mathematics / Mathematical & Computer Sciences Department, 1963.
Established with a persistent degree of B.S. Mineral Engineering-Mathematics in 1963. This was part of the creation of the 1963 Mines Chemistry-Mathematics-Physics B.S. program. 1990--Became the Mathematical & Computer Sciences Department with the incorporation of computer science. 2011--Became the Applied Mathematics & Statistics Department with the formation of the College of Engineering & Computational Sciences.
Physics Department, 1963.
Established with a persistent degree of B.S. Mineral Engineering-Physics in 1963. This was part of the creation of the 1963 Mines Chemistry-Mathematics-Physics B.S. program.
Mineral Economics / Economics & Business Department, 1969.
Created as a graduate degree-granting department with the separation of Mineral Economics from the Humanities & Social Sciences Department in 1969. 1994--Became the Economics & Business Department.
Environmental Science & Engineering / Engineering Ecology Department, 1982.
Created as the Environmental Sciences & Engineering Ecology Department, a non-degree granting department in 1982. (The Environmental Sciences Program was created in 1979 and listed in the Catalog under Non-degree Granting Departments, offering "structured minors" in environmental science.) 1990--Became the Environmental Science & Engineering Department. 2011--Merged with the Civil Engineering Department to become the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering as a degree-granting department with the formation of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences.
Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, 2011.
Created as a degree granting department in 2011. (The departments of: Civil & Environmental Engineering; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering were created with the split of the Engineering Department and the formation of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences.
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science / Electrical Engineering Department, 2011.
Created as a degree granting department in 2011. (The departments of: Civil & Environmental Engineering; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering were created with the split of the Engineering Department and the formation of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences. 2018--Split into the Electrical Engineering Department and Computer Science Department.
Mechanical Engineering Department, 2011.
Created as a degree granting department in 2011. (The departments of: Civil & Environmental Engineering; Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering were created with the split of the Engineering Department and the formation of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences.
Computer Science Department, 2018.
Created as a degree-granting program offering a B.S. in Computer Science in 2018 with the split of the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department.
Engineering, Design & Society / Humanitarian Engineering Department, 2018.
Established as the Division of Engineering, Design & Society (EDS) in 2018 with the interdisciplinary degree of B.S. Engineering (B.S.E.). The Engineering, Design & Society Division was created from the merger of several programs, including Engineering Practices Introductory Course Sequence (EPICS), Capstone Design, and Humanitarian Engineering.
NON-DEGREE / COURSES OF STUDY / ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH SUPPORT DEPARTMENTS
Library / Arthur Lakes Library, 1881.
Established by 1881 as a non-degree granting unit, with roots going back to the 1874 Territorial School of Mines.
Geology Museum / Museum of the Earth Sciences, 1881.
Established by 1881 as a non-degree granting unit under the Geology Department, with roots going back to the 1874 Territorial School of Mines.
Military Science & Tactics / Military Science Department, 1917.
Established in 1917 as the Military Science & Tactics Department, non-degree granting, with roots going back to the 1874 Territorial School of Mines. 1919--ROTC was established. 1970--Appears as the Military Science Department in the Catalog.
Athletics / Physical Training & Athletics / Physical Education & Athletics Department, ______.
Established in ______ as a non-degree granting department. 1952--Became the Physical Training & Athletics Department, with 4 faculty. 1976?--Became the Physical Education & Athletics Department.
Colorado Geological Survey, 2013.
2013--Officially transferred from the CO Department of Natural Resources to the Colorado School of Mines under House Bill-1355 on January 31 2013. 2018--Appears in the Catalog as a department.