At MIT, the study of mining and the associated fields of metallurgy and geology were driven by Boston business with interests in Westward expansion, railroads, and industrialization. The evolution of the departmental name reflects changing emphases in study.
1865-1871 Geology and Mining
1871-1872 Geology and Mining Engineering (assigned Course III)
1874 Metallurgy was established at MIT (Course VI)
1884 Metallurgy absorbed into Course III
1888-1889 Mining Engineering
1889-1920 Mining Engineering and Metallurgy
1920-1927 Mining, Metallurgy and Geology
1927-1937 Mining and Metallurgy
1937-1967 Metallurgy
1967-1975 Metallurgy and Materials Science
1975- Materials Science and Engineering