The university was founded in 16^th of July, in 1914 by the Law of the State Council and the State Duma, approved by Emperor Nicholas II, as a mining institute in Yekaterinburg. In 1993, it was renamed to Ural State Mining and Geological Academy, and then became Ural State Mining University.

The university is divided into the following faculties and institutes: Faculty of Mining and Technology, Faculty of Mining and Mechanical, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, Faculty of Urban Economics, Engineering and Economics Faculty, Distance Learning Faculty, Additional Professional Education Institute.

Royal Hall is the special place for meeting. It has all tools for meetings, hosting conferences, making presentations: professional sound equipment and video system, access to the internet, multimedia equipment, air conditioning system, a stage.

Scientific capacity of URSMU is on high level - more than 70 doctors of sciences, more than 200 PhDs and 14 scientific schools work here. Students and university staff conduct applied researches in different fields. Today there is an increasing growth of new business-plans and innovations. Moreover, each researcher can be selected for grants.

For 70 years, the main strategic partner for Russia is People`s Republic of China. Diplomatic relationships between the two countries find their expression in cultural exchange. The universities of Beijing, Harbin and other cities of the PRC have the strong friendship with URSMU for many years.

URSMU – one of the few Russian universities, that maintains the high standards of cooperation with Chinese students. For better understanding of professional and everyday language, Chinese students are given the special course of Russian language before the main block of professional subjects. All students show great results during their study.

URSMU does not forget about cultural exchange between countries. Russian and Chinese cultures are very rich and are counted over thousands years.  It is important to maintain the high popularity of Chinese culture within its walls. The university conducts a number of events aimed at popularizing it among students: Chinese culture Week, master classes of calligraphy, tea ceremonies, Russian-Chinese cuisine marathon, concerts of traditional Chinese music and poetry, and so on.

URSMU also collaborates with European and CIS universities. Strong partnerships have been established between them, also enshrined in treaties, agreements and memorandum. Students and members of URSMU and partnership universities are always exchange of researchers by numerous conferences, internships and cultural events.

The main rules of URSMU are: to be open to innovations, consolidate international relationships, keep pace with the times, not be afraid of changes. The university honors the main principles of mining brotherhood. The internal work of the university is based on mutual respect and equality of employees and students.