October 29, 2026 - The University of Texas at El Paso is one of 16 universities selected for federal funding to help expand the nation’s mining workforce, the university announced Thursday.

UTEP will receive a $1 million PROSPECT Planning Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The funding is part of a federal effort to increase the number of professionals prepared for careers in mining and related supply chain fields.

The university plans to relaunch its undergraduate mining engineering program in fall 2027.

Applications are open for incoming students, and scholarships and other financial assistance are available for the program’s first class.

When launched, the program is expected to be the only mining engineering program in Texas. UTEP projects it could produce up to 100 mining engineers annually once it reaches full capacity.

The Energy Department estimates the United States will need about 6,000 new mining engineers over the next decade.

“Every smartphone, power line and fighter jet depends on minerals someone had to mine,” UTEP President Heather Wilson said. “For too long, the United States has relied on other countries for those materials. UTEP will help change that.”

UTEP expects to offer nearly $3 million in mining engineering scholarships each year once the program reaches full capacity, according to Kenith Meissner, dean of the Miguel A. Loya College of Engineering. The university said industry partners are supporting the scholarships, which may be combined with other financial aid and housing assistance.

The starting salaries for graduates are expected to be $100,000 or more, the university said.

UTEP was founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy. The university last offered a mining engineering degree in 1964, and its last graduate in the field completed the program in 1968.

The new Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering has been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.