The Master of Science in Mineral
Economics degree program is designed to prepare persons with undergraduate
degrees in technical fields or business for careers involving nonrenewable
resources and related industries. Graduates of the program currently work with
oil and mineral producing companies, government agencies, construction firms,
insurance firms, and consulting firms. Graduates can expect to be employed in
activities stressing analytical skills such as forecasting market conditions,
undertaking financial analyses of projects, or explaining market behavior.
Students study topics such as mineral cost structures, environmental issues,
public policy analysis, economic theory, and commodity markets.
The Master of Science in Mineral
Economics is a flexible program and allows students to construct their programs
around their individual needs while learning a common core of material. Faculty
and researchers from Business, Geology, Metallurgical Engineering, Mining
Engineering, Civil Engineering, and the Institute of Material Processing with
additional support from Forestry and Social Sciences aid in program development
and student advising and provide research guidance. Student research projects
have included a system dynamics model of the U.S. zinc processing industry, an
economic evaluation of metal recovery from electroplating waste sludge, a study
of backwardation in metal commodity markets, and the use of risk in project
evaluation. Michigan Tech's School of Business and Engineering Administration
also strongly supports the M.S. program with its strengths in accounting,
economics and finance, management/marketing, management information systems, and
operations management. The result is a program that uses the special strengths
of Michigan Tech to the benefit of the student.
The mineral economics faculty is
very active in research and professional organizations at the regional,
national, and international level. Past research efforts have focused on the
Great Lakes iron and steel industry, international trade, corporate behavior in
the U.S. copper industry, the decline of U.S. zinc processing, the economics of
rare earths, project evaluation, and present and future demand for metals and
advanced materials. Recent faculty activities and recognition have included the
Young Scholar award with the U.S. Bureau of Mines, a Fulbright Scholar award to
lecture in Ethiopia, and an appointment as an U.S. Treasury Department economic
consultant to Saudi Arabia. Funding support has come from such institutions as
the State of Michigan, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Resources for the
Future.
Mission of the MSME
The MSME Program delivers graduate
education to students with undergraduate technical or business degrees who
desire careers which combine economic skills with technology in resource and/or
environmental-related private or public sector activities.
Objectives
- Graduates are expected to develop specialized knowledge in the economics of
natural resources and the environment.
- Graduates are expected to develop an ability to apply engineering economy and
project evaluation.
- Graduates are expected to be capable of independent analysis using appropriate
research tools and will be able to effectively communicate the results
of this analysis.
