Metallurgical Engineering Degree

What is Metallurgical Engineering?

Metallurgical engineering is the study of metals and how metals can be safely transformed into products that benefit humanity such as surgical implants, computer chips, cars, materials for space exploration, and more.

What does a metallurgical engineer do?

Metallurgical engineers conduct testing to ensure the safety of materials, develop sustainable materials and processes for recycling existing materials, investigate material failures, and create testing procedures to ensure materials can withstand extreme environments.

As a metallurgical engineering major at South Dakota Mines, you will be part of one of the only metallurgical engineering programs in the country. We offer a unique and “true” metallurgical engineering program with an emphasis on processing and engineering. You will learn in a project-based environment, enjoying labs to get hands-on experience in the field.

Courses for this Degree

• Properties of Materials
• Mineral Processing and Resource Recovery
• Metallurgical Thermodynamics
• Steelmaking
• High Temperature Extraction, Concentration, and Recycling
• Principles of Metallurgical Design
• Physics of Metals
• Thermomechanical Processing
• Aqueous Extraction, Concentration, and Recycling
• Welding Engineering and Design of Welded Structures

Course Curriculum

Catalog Links: Metallurgical Engineering

Internships and Co-ops

At South Dakota Mines, 77% of students land internships or co-ops before they graduate, earning an average salary of $20.00/hour. Some of the companies where our students intern include:
• NASA
• Intel
• Freeport-McMoRan
• Nucor
• Alcoa
• Exxon-Mobil
• Logan Aluminum
• Steel Dynamics
• Boeing
• Ball Aerospace
• Lincoln Industries
• Newmont Mining

Career Outlook

Some of the work you might do as a metallurgical engineer includes:
• Convert raw metal into usable formats
• Design methods for separating metal from the rest of the components
• Design and direct testing procedures
• Monitor how materials perform and evaluate how they deteriorate
• Determine causes of product failure and develop ways to overcome the failure


The average starting salary for a 2020-21 South Dakota Mines materials and metallurgical engineering grad was $70,666.67. 100% of 2020-21 metallurgical engineering graduates landed jobs in their field or entered graduate school.

Metallurgical Engineering Research

At South Dakota Mines, you don’t have to wait for graduate school to jump into research. You will have the opportunity to be directly involved in research the day you step on campus as an undergrad.

Metallurgical engineering at South Dakota Mines is home to two National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites. The Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering allows students to participate in research in the areas of nanomaterials, biomaterials, and metal alloy utilizing state-of-the-art laser processing, friction stir welding, x-ray analysis equipment, and electron microscopes.

Program Offerings

• Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering, BS
(South Dakota Mines offers one of the only metallurgical engineering degrees in the nation)
• Accelerated master’s in Materials Engineering and Science, MS
(earn your bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in as little as five years)
• Master of science degree in Materials Engineering and Science, MS
• Doctor of philosophy degree in Materials Engineering and Science, PhD
• Minor: Materials Science - Metals

*The BS in Metallurgical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.