ABET accredited Mining engineers plan, develop and operate mines, as well as other engineering excavations. They engineer the individual systems within a mining operation or large earth engineering project. Students gain extensive knowledge of the engineering systems necessary for planning and operating mines. They learn how to determine the economic worth of a mineral deposit and how rock behaves when excavated. They learn how to excavate, transport, and process minerals and coal. In addition, students use mining software to design, plan, and supervise mines. Emphasis is put on engineering mines to have minimal environmental effects.

The knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, and physical and earth sciences gained from a major in Mining Engineering, combined with coursework specific to engineering principles and mining development and operations, prepares students for a variety of careers in the mining industry. Graduates in this major may work in planning, development, or operations for small or large scale excavation projects, and they may focus on geological factors, economic considerations, application of mining software, or minimizing environmental impacts.

The geomechanics track prepares students to work on geotechnical and geomechanical designs and projects in rock and soil. The track combines classes in mining with more geology, geographic information systems, geophysics, hydrology, or civil engineering. Students can work in mining, oil and gas, or the construction sector.