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Graduate Certificate in Mine Production and Information Technology

Graduate Certificate in Mine Production and Information Technology

Mining operations demand a very specific type of expertise, both in terms of scientific knowledge and the unique technological tools utilized. Engineers with a complete grasp of operational and computing tools that impact the day-to-day functions of an excavation can provide significant value to their organization. Those that can also help keep production processes cost-efficient can be truly invaluable assets.

As a student of the online Graduate Certificate in Mine Production and Information Technology, you’ll complete advanced coursework that explores the operational systems used to drive efficient mining facilities around the world.

If you’re interested in developing your ability to find (or build) the right tool for the challenge at hand and use it effectively, the program can help you reach your goals. Available prerequisite courses make this program a perfect fit not only for aspiring and practicing engineers, but for those looking to make a career change to mining or a related field, and those who would like to learn more about mine production and information technology. The program, designed and taught by leaders in the mining industry and accomplished UA faculty, consists of detailed courses in the applications, software, and advanced technologies used to shape the production process on a daily basis. The program closely examines technologies used to monitor mining environments, manage information, and recognize patterns in statistical data.

This program can also offer you the opportunity to complete hands-on training in various systems and gain insight into the systems engineering process, preparing you to create new platforms and structures that suit any situation. Upon graduation, you’ll be poised to use these principles to design and maintain large-scale earth-moving systems, analyze operational processes for financial concerns, and generate and use valuable modeling information to drive more efficient practices.

If, after graduating from the program, you decide to pursue the Master of Engineering in Mining and Geological Engineering, 12 of the 15 units taken in this certificate program can be transferred. If you are completing both programs concurrently, all 15 units earned in the certificate are eligible for transfer into the master’s program.

Curriculum

Prerequisite Courses (3 units each):

Students who have not previously completed coursework in Calculus, Statistics, and Strengths and Materials may be required to complete prerequisite work. These courses will be part of the student’s study plan and are available online through the Mining Department. They will be counted toward the 15 total required units.

Required Courses (9 units):

The course emphasizes the processes of designing, financing, justifying, implementing, operating, and maintaining large-scale earth moving systems. Both fixed and mobile equipment is considered. The course is taught through a combination of lectures, case studies, field trips, practical design projects, industrial interaction and student centered learning. The course focuses on applications in mining, civil, and industrial engineering. Graduate-level requirement includes individual graduate project.

This course is for students who wish to learn and engage in modern sustainable development practices with respect to engineering projects that have three areas of impact: economic, environmental and societal. The course will provide background for an understanding of the complexities and inter-relations of sustainable development issues. The focus will be on the minerals development industry, and the impacts in industrialized and developing nations, communities and the environment. Graduate-level requirements include project management duties, where graduate students are expected to manage groups of undergraduates in the design of the final term project. Additional graduate projects and assignments will have requirements for type and quantity of work.

Principles and procedures in mineral property valuation, geostatistical ore reserve estimation, engineering, economics, investment analysis; use of a microcomputer. Graduate-level requirements include either a research project or a research paper at the discretion of the instructor.

Elective Courses (Choose two):

Statistical methodology of estimation, testing hypotheses, goodness-of-fit, nonparametric methods and decision theory as it relates to engineering practice. Significant emphasis on the underlying statistical modeling and assumptions. Graduate-level requirements include additionally more difficult homework assignments.

Discrete event simulation, model development, statistical design and analysis of simulation experiments, variance reduction, random variate generation, Monte Carlo simulation. Graduate-level requirements include a library research report.

Make decisions as to the appropriate modeling tool to use based on the problem setting, the constraints on the solution process, the needs of the decision-maker, and the data available. Building models and obtaining solutions that consider the typical issues that arise when solving real problems, multiple objectives, multiple constraints, stochastic and deterministic elements, sensitivity analysis and unknown data.

Foundations, principles, methods and tools for effective design and management of projects in technology-based organizations. This course focuses on the scope, time, cost, performance and quality concerns of engineering projects characterized by risk and uncertainty. Initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing process are addressed. Students design and complete a project from concept through completion. Project management software is utilized. Graduate-level requirements include completing a more complex project which will include more tasks and will be characterized by greater risk and uncertainty.

Course substitutions or changes in electives are allowed with the approval of the program advisor.

Read more about admissions information for our graduate certificate programs.

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