Indian School of Mines was established in 1926 on the lines of the Royal School of Mines, London. It started as an institution to impart mining education has graduated into a full-fledged technical institution of international acclaim offering a host of programmes like B. Tech., M. Tech., M. Sc. Tech., integrated M.Sc, integrated M. tech and MBA. It also offers M. Phil. and full as well as part time Ph.D. programmes, while also awarding D.Sc. as the highest degree of academic achievement.

This is the only institute of its kind in India that caters to the human resource needs of the nation in the areas of Mining, Petroleum, Mining Machinery, Mineral Engineering and Earth Sciences besides training manpower in the related disciplines of Management, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, applied Science and Humanities and Social Sciences.

History of Indian School of Mines
With the Mines Bill becoming a law vide Indian Mines Act - VIII of 1901 the necessity for establishing a government college of Mining Engineering was felt by the then Indian Government. A committee consisting of mining experts under the Chairmanship of Macpherson, the Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar and Orissa were formed in order to study the system of mining education in England. The Indian Government in 1920 decided that the proposed institution should be an All India Institution financed by the Central Government and be named Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. The Indian School of Mines was formally opened on 9 December 1926 as the first mineral technology institute in the country. Initially it offered courses in Mining Engineering, Applied Geology, Applied Physics, Applied Chemistry and Applied Mathematics. Thereafter in 1957, it started providing Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics.

Departments and centres of Indian School of Mines:
* Applied Chemistry
* Applied Geology
* Applied Geophysics
* Applied Mathematics
* Applied Physics
* Computer Science and Engineering
* Electrical Engineering
* Electronics Engineering
* Chemical Engineering
* Environmental Engineering
* Fuel and Mineral Engineering
* Humanities and Social Sciences
* Management Studies (Formerly Industrial Engineering & Management)
* Mechanical Engineering
* Mining Engineering
* Mining Machinery Engineering
* Petroleum Engineering
* Centre for Mining Environment
* Centre for Longwall Mine Mechanization

It also conducts educational programs leading to the degree of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Master of Science (MSc.), Master of Science and Technology (M.Sc.Tech.), Integrated Master of Science (MSc.), Integrated Master of Science and Technology (M.Sc.Tech.), Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.).