Introduction

The Department of Mining Engineering and the Universidad de Chile has a 170 year tradition in the training of Mining and Extractive Metallurgy Engineers. It is a national, public institution of higher education that embraces, with commitment and a vocation for excellence, the education of individuals and the contribution to the nation's spiritual and material development. In doing so, it builds leadership in the innovative development of the sciences and technologies, the humanities, and the arts, through its teaching, research, and outreach activities, with particular emphasis on research and graduate education.

The strength of the Postgraduate Diploma Programs in mining and extractive metallurgy offered by this institution lies in the scientific excellence of the academic groups that make them up and in the quality of their students, which is why the admission criteria are highly competitive.  In addition, these programs bring together a set of disciplines offered exclusively, at the national level, by the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, allowing for a valuable interaction that strengthens the diversity of programs offered. Likewise, the faculty of this unit actively transfer knowledge to the productive sector through courses and diploma programs: since 1856, the year the first four graduates of the Mining Engineering program completed their degrees, its professionals have made a significant contribution to the development of Chilean mining, leading major technological changes in mining and metallurgy.

Through its programs, the Department of Mining Engineering reinforces its mission to remain a center of excellence, both nationally and internationally, in the various fields associated with the mining and metallurgical industry.