The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology or "New Mexico Tech" is a small, public university of about 2000 students. The student/faculty ratio is about 12:1, and Tech's size and informality allow highly individualized instruction. The graduate program currently averages about 600 students. Graduate classes are quite small, permitting lively student-faculty interaction.

New Mexico Tech specializes in the sciences, engineering, and natural resource fields. M.S. degrees are offered in most departments, and the Ph.D. is offered in several fields, including Chemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, and Materials Engineering. Chemistry faculty members are deeply involved in research, and many students are employed in research activities. In addition to the College Division, the Institute includes multiple research divisions providing ample opportunity for collaborative research. The divisions most closely related to chemistry are the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, the Petroleum Recovery Research Center, the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, and the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research. The world-renowned National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the operational center for the Very Large Array radio telescope facility, is located on campus and shares many research activities with Tech.
 

Chemistry Department
The Department of Chemistry at New Mexico Tech offers the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.  While the faculty are qualified in the major divisions of chemistry, such as organic, analytical, physical and biochemistry, the main research thrusts are in the areas of environmental / atmospheric and organic / biomedical chemistry.  The department houses a wide selection of modern and well maintained research instrumentation.  More details on our research programs are available on our Research Opportunities page and on the faculty’s individual webpages (see People pages). You are encouraged to directly contact any faculty whose research interests you. The Chemistry graduate guide (add link) gives a detailed description of the requirements for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at New Mexico Tech.

Financial Aid
Full-time chemistry graduate students at New Mexico Tech receive financial aid in the form of teaching or research assistantships.  The assistantships normally require half-time service in teaching or research. Currently, 12 month assistantships at New Mexico Tech pay between $25,930 and $28,149. All students holding full-time assistantships qualify for in-state tuition ($2,736 per semester).

Location, Recreation
New Mexico has many landscapes to enjoy - river valleys, forested mountains, grassy plains, mesas, deserts and equally varied climates. Snow falls in the mountain areas of the state from October through March. Vast areas of public lands, including national forests and wilderness areas are available for a wide range of outdoor activities. More developed recreational facilities include nationally famous ski areas. Socorro is located at an elevation of 4,620 feet in the Rio Grande Valley in south central New Mexico. The climate is dry and sunny all year long. Normal rainfall is less than 10 inches per year, and humidity is low. The average January high temperature is 52 degrees and the average low is 23 degrees. In July, the average high is 95 degrees and the average low is 64 degrees. Socorro, population 9,000, has five financial institutions, six public K-12 schools, a hospital, and nineteen churches. The town is small enough to be traversed easily by bicycle. Tech has a theater-conference center and a performing arts series is presented there during the academic year. There is a community orchestra and chorus, and a local dramatic group. Tech has a swim center open year round (bubble covered in winter), as well as tennis and racquetball courts, playing fields, gymnasium and a golf course. Socorro is one hour drive from Albuquerque and its airport and two hours from Santa Fe to the north and Las Cruces to the south.

How to Apply
Application for the chemistry graduate program must be made directly to the New Mexico Tech Graduate Studies program. You may apply online or download paper applications from their website (add link). In addition to the application form, you will need three letters of reference, transcripts from all prior schools, and scores from the GRE general exam. Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must also submit TOEFL scores. Once your application is complete, it will be reviewed by the chemistry faculty and an admission decision will be made. The application deadline for August admission is February 15 and the deadline for January admission is September 15.

Contact Information
Those interested in our graduate program are encouraged to contact individual faculty whose research interested them.  Contact information for faculty is available on our directory (add link) and on individual webpages (add link).  General inquiries about our program can be directed to our main office at (575) 835-5263 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  General inquires about application materials or the application process can be made to New Mexico Tech’s Graduate Studies Office at (575) 835-5513 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .