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Montana Tech’s Rigorous STEM Curriculum Produces In-Demand Graduates

August 5, 2024 |
3 minute read
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Borrowing from the popular TV quiz show “Jeopardy!” the answer is: “Montana Technological University.” The question: “What is the only university in the U.S. with an underground mine located on campus?”

Another correct answer: “One hundred.” The question: “What percent of undergraduates at Montana Tech take STEM courses?” 

One would expect students enrolled in Montana Tech’s Lance College of Mines and Engineering to pursue a STEM-heavy course of study. But STEM is in the DNA at Montana Tech, so it’s part of the curriculum for students in the College of Letters, Sciences & Professional Studies, which includes the Sherry Lesar School of Nursing; the Highlands Trade and Technical College; and the Graduate School. 

Fact is, Montana Tech’s mining heritage instills in students the drive to find answers to challenging questions, a level of dedication captured by a phrase in the University’s strategic plan: “We are Determined Doers.” Says Jaime Heppler, CEO of the Montana Tech Foundation, “We pride ourselves on staying true to who we are and what we offer as well as making sure that our mission, vision and values respond to critical economic needs at the state, national and global levels.”

Bringing 125 Years of History into the 21st Century

Cases in point: With rural Montana in need of greater access to healthcare, Montana Tech is expanding enrollment in the School of Nursing. With petroleum being foundational to energy security, Lance College students are using mathematics, physics and geology to solve complex recovery problems, all with a high degree of environmental consciousness. Mining at one time was a matter of searching for ore; today’s metallurgy and materials science students are doing innovative work in the field of rare earths, which are essential to technologies from cell phones to electric vehicles.

Deliberately Distinct: Positioning Montana Tech for the Future

- Montana Tech Strategic Plan

Founded in 1900 in Butte as the Montana State School of Mines, Montana Tech has had nearly 125 years to burnish its reputation in science, technology and engineering. The University became affiliated with the University of Montana in 1994.  In 2017 the Montana University System Board of Regents voted to designate Montana Tech as a Special Focus Four-Year University, the only such designation in the Montana University System. Currently, there are about 3,000 undergraduates on campus. The Highlands College, also located in Butte, offers a one- or two-year trade and technical program. Graduates are in high demand, so much so that Highlands’ program for overhead line personnel is attracting students from multiple states, including some on the East Coast.  

In athletics, Montana Tech is known as the “Orediggers” (“Diggers” for short) and is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Frontier Conference since the 1933–34 academic year. Digger athletes bring it when they walk on the field or the court—the school won the conference's most prestigious all-sports recognition, the Bandy Award, in 2023 and 2024. That said, Digger athletes are students first and foremost. One example: Women’s track and field standout Abby Clark carries a 3.90 GPA in metallurgical and materials engineering. 

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Graduates in High Demand

That dedication serves Montana Tech graduates well—very well. The current average starting salary for a graduate with a degree in petroleum engineering is $106,000. Lance College graduates overall have a median starting salary of over $80,000. Highlands College graduates start at close to $50,000 on average and can step up to the $90,000 range upon completion of their apprenticeship. Salaries reflect the demand for Montana Tech graduates because employers know what they are getting: Students educated at a #21 Top Public Schools, #41 in Best Universities West and Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (all U.S. News & World Report). The Princeton Review ranks Montana Tech among its Top 50 Best Value Public Colleges.

The Montana Tech Foundation was launched in 1967. The Finance and Investment Committee is formed out of members of the Montana Tech Foundation’s board, chaired by Bob Shepherd (Petroleum Engineering, ’82). The Montana Tech Foundation’s assets are well diversified across a range of public and private investments but, as one might expect, reflect a tilt in the direction of energy and hard assets. The University received a transformative gift in 2023—$31 million, the largest in the institution’s history, from Ryan Lance (Petroleum Engineering, ’84) and his wife Lisa. The university renamed the School of Mines & Engineering to acknowledge the gift by Lance, who has served as CEO of ConocoPhillips since 2012. The gift established the Lance Scholars Program offering scholarships to 50 in-state students; endowed the Lance Energy Chair to strengthen Montana Tech leadership in energy, environment and sustainability; and funded scholarships allowing Digger athletes to compete and achieve on and off the field. 

That’s an important point at Montana Tech: Digger athletes don’t play at the NCAA Division I level, so in all likelihood you won’t see them going on to star in the NFL or WNBA. They love their sport—but know they will make their mark elsewhere. Perhaps that’s why a more meaningful event was staged on campus in March: the International Collegiate Mining Competition. Drawing three dozen teams from as far away as Australia, the event’s varied schedule of games ranged from panning for gold to reconstructing railway beds under stopwatch pressure (the Orediggers men’s team took first place, the women fifth). You could call it serious fun—or in this Olympic year – the Mining Olympics. There’s nothing else like it in the world or, for that matter, like Montana Technological University. 

For more information about the Montana Technological University, please visit mtech.edu or the Montana Tech Foundation at foundation.mtech.edu.

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