SW New Mexico News

Almost half of the recent graduates from New Mexico State University's Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering are women, a fact recognized by a national publication. Washington Monthly has ranked NMSU's undergraduate chemical engineering program 16th in its list of America’s Best and Worst Colleges for Women in STEM. Among public institutions, NMSU was the second highest-ranked.

Joseph Holles, the department head, attributes this success to strong female faculty role models. "The success is being driven by the strong female faculty role models we have in our department. We have Professors Martha Mitchell, who recently retired, Jessica Houston, Catie Brewer and Hongmei Luo as instructors and researchers in our department," he said. "The students of New Mexico are able to see their future selves in our faculty."

The ranking considered factors such as the percentage of recent program graduates who are female—49.2% at NMSU—the percentage of an institution’s student body that is female—58.4% at NMSU—and median earnings five years after graduation for both women and men, which stands at $89,216 for NMSU graduates. Notably, more women than men have been enrolled twice in the last five years.

Holles also noted the resilience of women students during challenging times: "The data showed that the women students in our department had very strong perseverance during COVID and beyond."

Professor Jessica Houston, a graduate from 2000 and a faculty member for 15 years, shared her observations on the department's environment: "During this time, I have observed a strong collaborative culture among faculty and students. We emphasize research opportunities, mentorship and interdisciplinary projects." She added that their commitment to diversity ensures a supportive learning environment.

Holles believes this ranking could positively influence the entire department: "We want to continue to draw in strong, capable students from New Mexico and the surrounding area." He emphasized that these rankings justify why industrial partners should continue hiring NMSU graduates.

For more information about NMSU’s Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, visit chme.nmsu.edu.