Michigan Technological University is an institution of higher learning with its main campus in Houghton, Michigan, with a building in Hancock. It also maintains the Ford Forestry Center and Research Forest, located in Alberta, Michigan; the Portage Lake Golf Course in Portage Township and the Mt. Ripley Ski Hill in Ripley, Michigan. Michigan Tech was founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School as a response to the booming copper mines on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the 1800's. The school was established by the state of Michigan to train mining engineers to better operate the local copper mines. The first classes were held by 4 faculty members and 23 students on the second floor of the Houghton Fire Hall. Later, the name changed to the Michigan College of Mines.

To reflect the variety of programs available beside mining, the name changed to Michigan Technological University in 1964.

Michigan Tech has a reputation as a top school in engineering and sciences, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in a range of fields with a technological emphasis. Engineering departments include Mechanical, Electrical, Civil and Environmental, Material, Chemical, and Biomedical. The College of Sciences and Arts departments are Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Education, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Fine Arts. Michigan Tech is a recognized leader in Forestry Science, and has recently expanded its School of Business. The program in Technical Writing and Communication is one of the best in the country.

Michigan Tech opened a campus in India.

The school's sports teams are the Huskies. They compete in the NCAA's Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The hockey team competes in Division I as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. MTU has its own downhill ski/snowboard hill, just across Portage Lake from campus, and maintains extensive cross-country ski trails (used for mountain biking in summer).

In February Michigan Tech hosts the annual Winter Carnival. Students compete in a variety of artistic and atheletic events. The highlight of Winter Carnival is the statue competition. Students build dramatic sculptures out of snow and ice to match the annual theme, some of them in a single evening. Those built over the month long lead-up to Winter Carnival can reach a height of several stories.

The annual Parade of Nations in the fall highlights the range of cultures represented on campus through a parade, food, and performances by a multitude of groups.

In the summer Michigan Tech hosts Summer Youth Program (SYP), Women in Engineering (WIE), American Indian Workshop (AIW), and Orchestra Fellowship Programs (OFP) to introduce high school students to college opportunities.

One frequent topic of conversation at Michigan Tech is "The Ratio," that is, the fact that the ratio of male to female students is 3:1 (75% male). [1] Michigan Tech is making efforts to achieve a more balanced gender ratio.

External links

• Michigan Technological University
• MTU Youth Programs