Established in 1949, the Mineral Processing Engineering program at Northeastern University is the first undergraduate program in mineral processing engineering in China, with authorization to confer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. In 2007, the discipline was designated as a National Key Discipline under cultivation and a Key Discipline of Liaoning Province. In 2009, the program was approved as one of the Fourth Batch of National Featured Undergraduate Programs. It successively passed the National Engineering Education Accreditation in 2011, 2014, and 2019. The program was included in the Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program of the Ministry of Education in 2012 and was selected as one of the first National First-Class Undergraduate Programs in 2019.

Targeting international academic frontiers and major national demands for mineral resources, the program is committed to cultivating high-level engineering and management professionals with solid theoretical foundations and strong practical skills. Graduates are well prepared for careers in education, scientific research, engineering design, project implementation, and management. The program enrolls approximately 60 undergraduate students, 60 master’s students, and 40 doctoral students annually.

The program currently has 31 full-time faculty members, including 16 professors and 15 associate professors, among whom there are one national-level leading talent and five national-level young talents. It has developed distinctive research directions in the efficient and clean utilization of complex and refractory mineral resources, efficient and eco-friendly utilization of mineral resources, high-efficiency processing and application of mineral materials, and intelligent control of mineral processing operations. The program is supported by two national-level research platforms, including the State Key Laboratory of Mineral Processing Science and Technology, as well as three provincial-level research platforms.

Over the past five years, faculty members have undertaken more than 500 research projects, including the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Major Science and Technology Project for Deep Earth Exploration, projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and industry-oriented research projects, with cumulative research funding exceeding RMB 200 million. Major achievements include one Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, seven First Prizes of provincial and ministerial-level science and technology awards, two First Prizes of Liaoning Provincial Teaching Achievement Awards, and 15 provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses. 

Through continuous development under Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Initiative, the program has grown into a major base for talent cultivation and scientific innovation in the field of mineral processing, with strong teaching capacity, outstanding research and development capabilities, and significant academic and industrial influence.