T h e   U n i v e r s i t y   o f   T e x a s   a t   E l  P a s o

CERTIFICATE, PROPOSED SEQUENCE

Labs 5301 -The Border

POLS 5344 - Border Theory & Latin America

Border 4350 - Comparative Government US and Mexico

PAD 5355 - Comparative Public Administration

PAD 5361 - Political Economy of Borders

The above is the proposed order for the courses for the certificate.  The rationale behind the order is given under each course title: 

LABS 5301 The Border

This class exposes the participants to border issues and gets them hooked in to the certificate program by introducing them to border topics relevant to a border region with which they are at least familiar or with which they are working (Border Patrol, Homeland Security etc.). This class is an anchor class, meaning that it gets the students involved in the theme of the certificate by introducing topics to which they can relate.  While doing so, however, it also leaves the students with unanswered questions and unresolved challenges which they can use the following classes to try to answer/resolve.

POLS 5344 Border Theory & Latin America

After the participants have done some grounded work in the first class, the second class now introduces them to theoretical issues involved in the study of borders.  It will prepare student to think critically about the issues addressed in the next three courses.  It is a bridge class, meaning that it provides a link between the grounded and familiar, with more complex, macro topics. It is essential as a segue between the basic and the more complex.

Border 4350-Comparative Government US and Mexico

Once well-versed in border issues and border theory, participants will now be ready to analyze specific topics related to crossborder cooperation, the relationship between the border and the centers of power, the origin of conflict between the US and Mexico, among many others.  This course relates to the first course of the certificate program by allowing the students to develop a deeper understanding of crossborder relations from a governmental perspective, and is enriched by the students’ understanding of border theory through which they can analyze the role of governments in border issues.

PAD 5355-Comparative Public Administration

This course follows the course on comparative government because public administration stems from the understanding of differences in the general governmental structure.  Certainly the material learned in the first three courses will contribute to the students’ ability to understand the issues in comparative public administration. Likewise, after completing this course the students will be prepared to tackle the complex issues related to the political economy of borders---an amorphous area of study which includes theory, government, economics and public administration all applied to the border context.

PAD 5361-Political Economy of Borders

As the final course in the certificate series, this course allows the students to analyze border phenomena in an international perspective.  It ties together the local, specific attributes of the Mexico-US border to the global political economy of borders.  As the final course in the series, it concludes the certificate program with an international perspective on borders. It is a crescendo class, meaning it is the point in the certificate where everything the students have learned so far can be integrated and applied.

For further information about the program, please contact: