Congratulations to 16 winning schools of the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) Planning Prize! The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation awarded $1 million to each school for their strategies to rapidly expand the critical minerals and materials workforce.
Each school was selected for their viable plans for innovative programs aimed at substantially increasing the number of graduates and other credentialed professionals that are prepared for relevant mining and supply chain fields by the end of the 2028 calendar year. Pathways outlined in winning submissions included themes such as a broader workforce pipeline beyond traditional mining degrees; flexible and stackable credentials for students and workers; and mine-, lab-, and field-based learning.
The following schools were selected as PROSPECT Planning Prize winners (alphabetically by school name):
- Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado
- Columbia University, New York, New York
- Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan
- Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri
- Montana Technological University, Butte, Montana
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico
- South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
- The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
- The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas
- The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
- University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
- West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
Congratulations to these schools for their plans to further the future of the critical minerals workforce!
