President

Welcome to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The School of Mines has a proud and long-standing heritage of excellence in preparing graduates to serve as leaders in engineering and science.

Founded in 1885, the School of Mines was established to meet the growing research needs of the mining industry, led by the Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota. We are now an elite technological university offering 37 baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degree programs with 2,350 talented and motivated students engaged in challenging and exciting academic programs. Online degrees are available, including professional master’s programs in construction management, engineering management, and mining engineering. We believe the role of engineers and scientists is crucial to the advancement of society. Our graduates design, construct, and operate the most advanced technology to meet today's complex challenges, such as climate change, bioenergy, mineral extraction and processing, environmental quality, and national defense.

We invite you to visit us at the foot of the beautiful Black Hills, a million-acre wilderness that provides exceptional recreational opportunities and serves as an extraordinary natural laboratory for our students. Tour our new buildings, state-of-the-art research laboratories, and all our world-class facilities that are transforming the School of Mines educational experience. Cheer for the Hardrockers at an athletic event. Experience one of the world's finest fossil collections in our Museum of Geology. And most importantly, talk with our students. They are the engineers, scientists, visionaries, and leaders who will invent tomorrow.

Robert A. Wharton, Ph.D.
President