Colorado School of Mines
#381
QS Rank
48%
Acceptance rate
7%
Intl. students
$44,760
Tuition/yr
5,800
Enrollment
17.2:1
Student:Faculty
About Colorado School of Mines
Elite public research university in Colorado. Exceptional engineering, geology, and STEM programs.
Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, established in 1874. It specialises exclusively in engineering, applied science, and related disciplines, granting degrees at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels across roughly 94 programs. Total enrollment stands at approximately 7,022 students.
Mines is the world's top-ranked university for mineral and mining engineering according to QS Subject Rankings 2026, and it holds an R1 Carnegie classification, the highest research designation in the United States. Core strengths include petroleum engineering, metallurgical and materials engineering, geophysical engineering, computer science, and mechanical engineering. The university has deep industry ties in energy, mining, and materials sectors, supporting strong graduate employment rates.
Golden sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains, roughly 15 miles west of Denver, giving students access to both a mid-size city and extensive outdoor terrain. The campus spans about 373 acres. With approximately 7,000 students, it is intentionally small, allowing close faculty contact. The QS 2026 overall world rank is 571, the Times Higher Education 2026 rank is in the 401–500 band, and US News 2025 ranks it #76 among US national universities and #36 among public universities.
World University Rankings
Campus & Location
CO
Suburban
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
All graduates qualify for 12-month OPT. STEM-designated programs (CS, Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, Sciences) qualify for 24-month STEM OPT extension — 36 months total work authorisation.
For Nepali students
- Nepali students interested in petroleum, mining, or energy engineering will find few universities that match Mines' global reputation in these fields, its QS #1 subject ranking in mineral and mining engineering signals direct recognition by global employers in resource-rich industries where Nepali engineers often find work in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.
- International undergraduate students are automatically considered for a renewable merit scholarship of up to USD 8,000 per year (applied toward tuition) without a separate application, which partially offsets the non-resident tuition of approximately USD 44,760 per year for 2026-27.
- All engineering and computer science programs at Mines qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension in the United States, giving graduates up to three years of legal work experience after graduation, a significant advantage for building an international career before returning to Nepal or moving to a third country.
- The international student population at Mines is small (around 7% of 7,022 students), meaning individual attention from International Student Services is typically strong, though Nepali students should expect limited South-Asian community infrastructure on campus compared with larger US research universities.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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