Higher education

18 Nov 2010

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Short description of the higher education system

The higher education sector in Mexico is made up of universities, technical universities, institutes of technology and teacher-training institutes for basic education (escuelas normales). The quality of education varies considerably. Mexico has around 600 government institutions and between 2,000 to 3,000 private institutions of higher education. Over 70 per cent of the student population attends government institutions, most of which are autonomous.

Most private higher education institutions are not recognized, and tend to offer programmes in the less exact sciences, which require few investments in laboratories, equipment etc. Private institutions have undergone tremendous growth due to a shortage of capacity at the government institutions, meaning that students who cannot afford the expensive elite institutions are forced to attend this cheaper type of institution. Compacting this trend is the decentralization of accreditation in the 1980s, which resulted in the Ministry of Education (Secretaría de Educación Pública, SEP) no longer being the only organization tasked with the accreditation of study programmes and recognition of institutions.

The academic year runs from August until June. Students who have studied at a government institution must complete a period of social service (servicio social) after this as compensation for their tuition fees. The language of education is Spanish. Around ten per cent of the population is illiterate.
 

Types of degrees

There are two levels of education at Mexican universities: pregrado and posgrado. Universities (escuelas preparatorias) also offer the bachillerato, comprising the final years of general senior secondary education, and cursos de actualización, which are additional training courses which graduates can take in their own discipline. Higher professional programmes (such as nursing) are part of university education.

Pregrado programmes include técnico superior universitario and licenciatura.

  • Técnico superior universitario
    Universities and Institutos Tecnológicos provide short professional programmes with a nominal duration of two to three years which culminate in the degree of Técnico Superior Universitario, also called Profesional Asociado. Some universities regard this title as an intermediate degree. Following completion of these programmes, students can continue on to university to obtain a Licenciado degree. The year of the licentiatura in which students can enter varies. The Bachiller and Bachiller Técnico grant admission to these programmes. A Técnico Superior Universitario, Técnico Superior or Profesional Asociado degree is comparable to two years of Dutch higher professional education in a similar specialization.
  • Egresado
    Following completion of the theoretical part of a university programme, students at some universities can also attain the Egresado certificate, sometimes also called Egresado Pasante or Pasante, meaning “graduated”. 
  • Licenciatura
    In general, the Licenciado(a) degree is awarded following successful completion of the examen de profesional and presentation of a final paper. A nominal four and a half year Licenciado degree is comparable to a professional or university master’s degree in the Netherlands, depending on the specialization.
    In addition to the Licenciado degree, other professional qualifications such as Abogado, Ingeniero and Arquitecto are also awarded. The procedure for obtaining the célula profesional (professional identity card) is centralized at the Dirección de Profesiones of the SEP, where the title is registered. 

Posgrado programmes include especialización, maestría and doctorado.

  • Especialización
  • The Certificado de Especialización is awarded following the completion of a nominal one-year postgraduate programme (60 credits). This programme should not be confused with the medical specializations, which last from three to five years. A Certificado de Especialización is comparable to at least a university bachelor’s degree in the Netherlands or, for professional programmes, a professional master’s degree.
  • Maestro(a)/Magister
    A Maestro(a) degree is awarded following a nominal two-year postgraduate university programme (110 credits), which is completed with a final paper. The Maestro(a) degree grants admission to PhD programmes. It is also the qualification for primary school teachers. A Maestro(a) degree is comparable to a university master’s degree in the Netherlands. 
  • Doctorado
    On average, doctorado (Doctor) programmes have a duration of three years (195 credits), and consist of independent research culminating in the defence of a dissertation (tesis de doctorado).  

Quality assurance and accreditation

Mexico has a quality assurance system based on the European model. In 1990, the Comisión nacional de la evaluación de la educación superior (CONAEVA) was founded to set up this quality assurance system. The system initially consisted of self-evaluation, followed by an inspection of each institution by the Comités interinstitucionales para la Evaluación de la Educación Superior (CIIES) and special committees and, lastly, a meta-evaluation of the entire higher education system.

The evaluation and accreditation of higher education programmes is the responsibility of CIIES and of the Consejo para la Acreditación de la Educación Superior (COPAES). An overview of accredited undergraduate programmes is available from the website of COPAES, and of postgraduate programmes from the website of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT) in the Padrón Nacional de Posgrado. Higher education institutions may only award degrees if the SEP or an autonomous government institution of higher education has accredited their specializations. In this context, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM) is also an accreditation body. Since the 1980s, private institutions have been able to apply to the SEP for accreditation (Reconocimiento de Validez Oficial de Estudios, RVOE) at federal or state level, as well as to several autonomous and government higher education institutions.
 

Recent reforms

The Programa Sectorial de Educación 2007-2012 formulates six objectives to be achieved by 2012:

  1. Increase the quality of education in order to increase the level of student performance and offer them tools for personal as well as civic development.
  2. Expand educational opportunities to reduce inequality between social groups.
  3. Stimulate the development and use of ICT in education to support student learning and give students a head start in the knowledge society.
  4. Offer integrated education, balancing individual competencies with civic values in order to support the interests of a democratic and intercultural society.
  5. Offer quality education services to teach students social responsibility and the skills to participate in a competitive labour market.
  6. Develop educational and institutional management in order to boost the participation of education centres in decision-making and to promote the security of students and professors, while increasing financial transparency at the same time.

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