Did you know that 50 alumni giving £25/month provides a year’s CSM scholarship for an aspiring undergraduate? Donate Now to help us support the next generation of mining professionals.
We were pleased to welcome the first cohort of seven undergraduate Mining Engineering students to the Camborne School of Mines in September 2025. The programme is part of the university’s Engineering 2030 strategy which intends to grow the number of courses and students studying engineering degrees at both campuses.
However, we need to recruit more students to this course to secure its future viability, and as such support the future of the mining industry; we can do this by making the course as appealing as possible to applicants by offering these scholarships (alongside mentoring, international work experience, access to all the benefits of the CSM alumni community, and of course showcasing fantastic career outcomes).
The course will have a common first year run at both campuses, with mining-specific topics starting in Year 2. This structure also allows students to transfer at the end of Year 1, and we hope to entice more students into mining through the Scholarship scheme.
We’re aiming to establish a £2M endowment fund to support
Mining Engineering students for many years to come. Since announcing the reintroduction of the undergraduate Mining Engineering degree in 2024, we have raised £115,000 in donations and pledges (including generous support from 16 CSM alumni so far from amongst our alumni community of 4,000). This is a great start, but we need more support to ensure the long-term viability of the programme.
Students will either be offered a £15,000 scholarship upon enrolment to the Mining Engineering course for four years, or have the option to select Mining Engineering at the end of the common first year Undergraduate Mining, incentivised by the opportunity for the scholarship.
The opportunity is being promoted to all students on the University of Exeter’s Engineering course, with the first cohort to be notified of awards in Spring 2026. Each student will receive up to £60,000 over the course of their studies.
Through this page we're aiming to raise £30,000 - enough to support two students at £15,000 per annum each. Through offering this support to students who choose the Mining Engineering pathway, we can create a sustainable course that is of strategic importance for the University and for the mining industry.
Make a gift today to help us launch this historic opportunity to CSM students, in order to drive recruitment to this vitally important industry worldwide.
About CSM
The Camborne School of Mines (CSM) is a world-class combined geoscience and mining school. It undertakes research and education in fundamental and applied aspects of geoscience and georesources – areas of knowledge that are crucial to address many of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, including the energy transition away from fossil fuels and towards more sustainable practices.
CSM was founded in 1888 to provide technical training for the Cornish mining industry and most students worked overseas. The School’s outlook is international; it began accepting overseas students in the early 20th Century.
CSM was incorporated into the University of Exeter in 1993, relocating to the Penryn Campus in 2004. It continues to pioneer mining teaching, introducing a Mining Degree Apprenticeship which was inaugurated in October 2023 by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal.
CSM’s ethos is interdisciplinary, and values both theoretical and practical work in developing a holistic understanding of the geological world and the skills and knowledge needed for responsible use of natural resources. CSM has a long history of successful partnerships with industry and a hugely supportive alumni network that is truly global.
CSM has achieved a great deal over the past 30 and 135 years, and with your support, we look forward to seeing what can be achieved together in the next 30 years.
