Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri S&T was founded on February 24, 1870, as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM) . It was created under the Morrill Land-Grant Act as the first technological learning institution west of the Mississippi River, with classes beginning on November 23, 1871, in the Rolla Building . For nearly a century, it operated as a department of the University of Missouri in Columbia, focusing on mining and metallurgy to serve the local lead mining district . In 1964, it was elevated to autonomous campus status within the newly formed University of Missouri System as the University of Missouri at Rolla (UMR) , later renamed the University of Missouri–Rolla in 1968 . On January 1, 2008, the university adopted its current name, Missouri University of Science and Technology, to better reflect its distinctive mission as a national technological research university . Today, it continues its legacy of discovery and innovation, with strategic research focuses on advanced manufacturing, materials, and smart environments