UTEP, State of Chihuahua Partner to Expand Opportunities for Graduates
Joint initiative seeks to ease pathway to professional licensure in Mexico
EL PASO, Texas (May 17, 2023) – The University of Texas at El Paso has entered a new partnership with the State of Chihuahua to streamline the process by which UTEP graduates obtain their professional license in Mexico.
UTEP President Heather Wilson and Sandra Gutiérrez Fierro, secretary of education of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, met today in the city of Chihuahua to sign an agreement that formalizes the intent of both entities to work together to revamp the licensure process for UTEP graduates from that state. Chihuahua Governor María Eugenia Campos Galván and Luis Rivera Campos, president of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACH), served as official witnesses to the signing. Wilson was joined by a committee of UTEP deans, faculty, and administrators.
Wilson met with Governor Campos Galván in Ciudad Juárez late last year; the two decided to team up to make the process of recognizing UTEP degrees easier. The presidents from UACH and the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (UACJ) are also critical partners in the effort.
“Our relationship with Mexico is part of what makes UTEP so unique,” said President Wilson. “This agreement will make it easier for UTEP alumni to work in their field of expertise in Chihuahua and contribute to improving their communities. I’m proud to partner with Governor Campos Galván and Secretary Gutiérrez Fierro to better serve students from this region.”
A professional license, known in Mexico as “cédula profesional,” is often required for those seeking employment in skilled labor fields, especially in areas such as health care and engineering.
Until recently, the licensing process for Mexican students who obtained their degrees in colleges and universities outside of Mexico was under the purview of the Mexican federal government, and could take several years to complete.
That started to change in 2018, when individual states in Mexico took over responsibility for the licensing process, paving the way for the agreement that was signed today.
“In this administration we work hard to give future professionals the best opportunities, and we gladly join any initiative that works toward that same goal,” said Campos Galván. “We’re confident that the signing of this reciprocity agreement with UTEP will pay off.”
Under the new plan, UTEP will work with universities in the state of Chihuahua – initially UACH and UACJ – to expedite the evaluation of individual students’ degree plans. To do this, UTEP will create processes to share student documentation and information promptly and securely with its Mexican counterparts. Those institutions will then assess the degree plans and determine whether they qualify for licensing.
Representatives from UTEP, UACH and UACJ will continue to work on creating and implementing the various components of the plan in the coming months. The goal is to have the new process in place by the end of the year.
Over the past decade, UTEP has awarded over 2,500 degrees to Mexican students, most of whom are from the State of Chihuahua. UTEP has about 1,200 Mexican students enrolled every year — more than any other university in the United States. UTEP is located less than a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border and many Mexican students commute from their homes in Ciudad Juárez daily to attend class.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier researchLast Updated on May 17, 2023 at 12:00 AM | Originally published May 17, 2023
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
