Michigan Tech: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Since 1885, when it began as the Michigan Mining School, Michigan Technological University has been preparing students to create the future. Established by the state of Michigan to train mining engineers to operate the local copper mines, Michigan Tech started with four faculty members and twenty-three students on the second floor of what is now the Houghton Fire Hall.

Greatly expanded academic offerings propelled Michigan Tech to its current name, in 1964. Although engineering still accounts for some 55 percent of all enrollment, the University now offers more than 120 degree programs and is organized into the College of Engineering, College of Sciences and Arts, School of Business and Economics, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, and the School of Technology.

Quality and affordability have remained hallmarks of a Michigan Tech education. Our average overall ACT scores for incoming students is 25.2, compared to 21.1 nationally. Undergraduate enrollment in environmental, geological, and mechanical engineering all rank in the top eight nationally, and the scientific and technical communication program is one the nation’s largest. And Michigan Tech graduates leave campus with some of the lowest debt in the nation, according to US News and World Report.

Our educational mission has evolved with additional emphasis on graduate programs and research, which are crucial to educating the students with the latest theories and practices. In the mid-1980s, Michigan Tech was designated as one of Michigan’s four research universities, along with the University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Wayne State, by the state of Michigan. Our research thrust has produced a Nobel Prize winner and projects ranging from wolf/moose relationships to aerospace studies and from communications technology to remote sensing. In 2007, our PhD program in forestry was ranked as the fourth best in the nation by Academic Analytics, and four graduate engineering programs received high rankings from US News and World Report.

Michigan Tech has long prided itself on the international character of its students, faculty, and staff, more than eighty nations are represented on campus, and approximately 10 percent of our students come from other nations. Our Chinese Student Association can trace its history to the early 1900s. Our global commitment goes both ways, as Michigan Tech’s Study Abroad, Engineers Without Borders, and other programs send students and faculty into the world to do great things.

As one would expect, Michigan Tech is committed to the latest in technology. In fact, in PC Magazine’s 2007 ranking of the twenty most-wired colleges in the nation, Michigan Tech ranks number seven. Princeton Review recently rated the University a “tech powerhouse” and said “Michigan Tech will definitely prepare you for your future.”

Before our students graduate, they receive an average of six job interviews, and, finally, our alumni pay the ultimate compliment: if given the chance, 95 percent would come back to Michigan Tech and do it all over again.