Missouri University of Science & Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (commonly Missouri S&T and formerly known as the University of Missouri–Rolla and originally Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy) is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri,United States, and part of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 8,642 students (Fall 2014 enrollment) study engineering,sciences and mathematics. Although known primarily as an engineering school, Missouri S&T has numerous majors in humanities, social sciences, arts, sciences and business. The school is known for its repeated success in national engineering design competitions and its century-long tradition of aggrandized celebrations surrounding Saint Patrick’s Day.

History

Missouri S&T was founded in 1870 as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM), the first technological learning institution west of the Mississippi River. Early in its history, the School of Mines was focused primarily on mining and metallurgy. Rolla is located close to the Southeast Missouri Lead District which produces about 70% of the U.S. primary supply of lead as well as significant amounts of the nation’s zinc.

The school was founded under the auspices of the University of Missouri in Columbia in order to take advantage of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts to “teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.” The act endowed Missouri a federal land grant of 30,000 acres for each of the state’s two senators and nine representatives at the time—or 330,000 acres (133,546.26 ha; 515.62 sq mi). The endowment said that the land could not be sold for less than $1.25/acre and as such as was a minimum endowment of $412,500 for Missouri. There was an intense debate in the state over the location and number of schools before it was finally decided to have one school in Columbia and a branch in the mining area of southeast Missouri.

Iron County, Missouri (Ironton, Missouri) and Phelps County, Missouri (Rolla) made bids for the school. Iron County’s bid was valued at $112,545 and Phelps County’s bid was $130,545 so the Phelps bid was officially approved on December 20, 1870

Classes began in November 23, 1871 in a new Rolla High School building that the city of Rolla had just built. The college had an enrollment of 28 and three graduates in 1874. The college bought what is now called the “Rolla Building” for $25,000 in January 1875. That building is now used as the Mathematics and Statistics Department’s library, chair’s office, part of the main office, and other faculty offices following a $2 million renovation in 1995.

By the 1920s, the school expanded into civil, electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering as well as chemistry, physics, mathematics and geology. The school became home to Missouri’s first operational nuclear reactor in 1961.

Until 1964, the school was considered an offsite department of MU’s School of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, reporting to the main campus in Columbia (although it began fielding sports teams in 1935 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association). As such, its presiding officer was originally called a director (1871–1941), then a dean (1941–1964). In 1963 the University of Missouri System was created with the additions of standalone campuses in Kansas City and St. Louis. A year later, MSM was upgraded to an autonomous standalone campus as the University of Missouri at Rolla and its presiding officer, like that of its sister schools, was granted the title of chancellor. The curriculum was expanded to include most of the science and engineering disciplines, as well as social sciences and liberal arts such as psychology and history. In 1968, the campus name was slightly altered to the University of Missouri–Rolla, thus conforming to the naming scheme of the other three campuses. Business and management programs were gradually added in the following years. On January 1, 2008 UMR became known asMissouri University of Science and Technology or Missouri S&T for short.

Name change

In making the case for changing the name, then Chancellor John F. Carney III noted that Rolla in 2007 was “one of the few technological research universities in the nation. A technological research university (polytechnic university or institute of technology) may be defined as one in which a majority of students are enrolled in engineering, the sciences, business or mathematics; the graduate and research programs in those fields are robust; and exceptional academic programs in the liberal arts, humanities and social sciences complement and provide context to the technological strengths of the institution.”

He noted that more than 70 percent of its enrollment was in engineering and more than 90 percent was in engineering, business, science and math—significantly higher than engineering schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He noted “The university’s name, however, does not reflect the distinctive nature of the campus. Often, UMR is viewed as a ‘satellite’ or ‘branch’ campus due to its name or as a ‘feeder’ campus for the University of Missouri-Columbia (commonly referred to as the University of Missouri). This branch-campus designation hinders many of our efforts to achieve national recognition and a strong reputation as a technological research university.”

He noted, “Of the 1.1 million seniors in the nation who took the ACT in 2006, only 551 non-Missouri seniors – or .05 percent – sent their scores to UMR.” He also noted that the school’s acronym of UMR got it confused with the University of Minnesota Rochester.

Among the other names that were considered were Missouri University of Science and Engineering, Missouri Technological University, and Missouri Science and Engineering University.

Graduate Engineering Program Overview

Missouri University of Science & Technology is a public institution. Ninety-eight percent of students are employed when they enroll for online graduate engineering programs at Missouri University of Science & Technology, and the application deadline is rolling.

Distinguishing characteristics of online program (as submitted by school)

Our courses are simultaneously offered in both synchronous & asynchronous modes receiving the same quality of instruction as our campus students. Customer service is a priority of S&T and includes both student administrative and technical support. Small class sizes and the predominate use of full time university faculty help insure a high quality experience for students. There is no difference between the on campus and on-line courses nor is any distinction made on the transcript or diploma.