Missouri University of Science and Technology announced today (Friday, June 4) that effective June 21, it will stop accepting admission applications to its Freshman Engineering Program for the fall 2010 semester. The move is the result of high application levels and capacity restraints on the campus.

On June 21, Missouri S&T will close admission to its Freshman Engineering Program for new college students desiring to begin their engineering studies in August 2010. Qualified undergraduate engineering students admitted after June 21 will be deferred to the spring 2011 semester, which begins on Jan. 10. Students deferred to the spring 2011 semester will be encouraged to enroll in fall classes at one of S&T’s 52 transfer partner colleges.

“The nation, as well as our economy, needs more well-educated engineers and scientists. The enrollment cap ensures the university will be able to best meet the learning needs of an incoming class of almost 7,000 S&T students,” says Missouri S&T Chancellor John F. Carney III. “By controlling the size of the new student classes, we can better focus our limited resources toward our students having a successful first-year experience and eventually graduating with a Missouri S&T degree.”

Fall semester classes begin on Monday, Aug. 23.

New students currently admitted to S&T Freshman Engineering Program for the fall 2010 semester who have not submitted a registration deposit by June 21 will be placed on a waiting list for fall enrollment and housing assignments.

Missouri S&T will continue to accept freshman applications after June 21 for admission into S&T’s 12 other academic programs in arts and humanities, natural and social sciences, business, computing, and information systems. Fall 2010 admission applications for S&T’s transfer, graduate and online engineering programs also will remain open.

The enrollment cap for the freshman engineering class is needed due to the new student registration deposits exceeding the campus’s fall 2010 course and housing capacities. More than 2,200 qualified students applied for a space in this year’s class.

“Over the last few years, we have added seats in the courses to accommodate the increased student demand,” says Missouri S&T Provost Warren K. Wray. “To maintain the high quality and hands-on approach of our education, we rely on strong student-professor interactions. Making sure our enrollment does not exceed our capacity ensures that our students receive the best possible educational experience.”

Missouri S&T’s enrollment has increased significantly over the past decade. In 2000, fall enrollment at the university was 4,748. Last fall, enrollment was 6,815. This fall, enrollment is expected to be around 7,000.

Missouri S&T’s Freshmen Engineering Program has been expanded over the past six years to support approximately 900 new students. Recent state budget reductions and restrictions on tuition increases have limited the university’s ability to hire additional faculty and expand instructional spaces.

A campus task force recently examined the capacity issues and concluded that after nine years of consistent enrollment growth, the campus needed to restrict some of the new student program sizes to maintain the university’s academic quality standards.

“We can provide access for most of the qualified students interested in our engineering programs, but the students who apply late in the year will have to start in January instead of the traditional August date,” says Jay W. Goff, Missouri S&T’s vice provost and dean of enrollment management.

This fall, more than 1,135 freshmen in all 29 degree programs are expected to start at the Rolla campus; 695 freshmen were enrolled in fall 2000.

Missouri S&T’s graduates continue to be highly sought after. In 2009 more than 600 organizations recruited S&T graduates, and their average starting salary of $57,500 was among the highest in the nation.

For more information contact the Missouri S&T admissions office at (573) 341-4165 or email admissions@mst.edu.