Mexico Higher Education

Mexico is Latin America’s third largest country and borders north to the United States, south to Belize and Guatemala and otherwise to the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. In Mexico, four- to seven-year higher education takes place at the country’s many technical colleges and universities.

“Mexico is a country you want to crave, and you never leave once you’ve seen it.” – Hermán Cortés, Spanish explorer.

There are approximately 112 million residents in Mexico. About 22 million of them live in the capital, Mexico City, one of the world’s largest cities. Mexico also includes 31 states plus the so-called federal district where the capital is located.

Spanish is the official language of the country. In addition, more than 60 different Native American languages ​​are spoken, the largest of which are Nahuatl (Aztec) and various Mayan languages.

According to topschoolsintheusa, the largest university in Mexico is the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, which has about 300,000 students. UNAM is also one of the world’s largest universities.

Worth knowing

Vocational training in Mexico

Vocational education in Mexico can, as a general rule, be divided into three categories:

• The first category is a “preparation for work” education, which takes three to six months to complete. The syllabus consists of 50% theory and 50% practice. After completing your education, you can enter the labor market. However, this type of education does not allow for further training. These very short educations are often offered to those who have not completed an elementary school education.
  If you have passed a primary school education in Mexico, you thus have the opportunity to take a number of three-year vocational educations, which provide titles and access to further education as a bachelor, and graduate in some cases.
• The second category of vocational education gives the title profesional tecnico – bachiller. This type of vocational education consists of 35% general education and 65% specific education within one’s field. As a student, you must have had a 360-hour internship to complete the education.
• The third and final category, which gives the title técnico professional, is offered by institutions that strive to follow the Western education system in vocational education.

In general, one must be aware that the education system in Mexico is very complex by international standards. Mexico has also only really begun to standardize education within the last twenty years, which is why many institutions still follow different rules and have different standards.

Internship

It can be difficult to arrange an internship in Mexico, which is why we recommend that you first contact your own educational institution to find out if they have previous experience with such exchanges.

High school in Mexico

Institutions

There are both public and private higher education institutions in Mexico. The Mexican model of higher education largely follows the American model, where it usually takes four years to obtain an undergraduate degree(bachelor, Licenciatura). After this, you have the opportunity to take a two-year Master’s degree(Master’s degree, Maestría), and finally a three-year Doctoral degree(Ph.D., Doctorado).

Unlike many OECD countries, Mexico’s public institutions often do not recognize part-time education programs.

Degrees at university level

Bachelor’s studies usually take four years, where the four years are divided into semesters or quarters, depending on which university you go to. OECD reports show that 23% of Mexicans between the ages of 23-35 have a university degree.

It is important to note that after 2005, graduate programs in Mexico were divided into two categories:

• The one category goes after “professional education”, where you specialize in a specific field; eg. teachers, other educators and public servants. Such specializations often take only one more year after completing a bachelor’s degree. Such an education provides a so-called “specialization diploma”.
  In addition, most master’s programs are also found in this category, where it requires two years of study to obtain a Maestroin a specific field after the bachelor’s program.
• The second category goes after “scientific research”, where there are certain master’s programs which after two years of study after the bachelor gives the title Maestrá en Ciencias(Master of Science).
  In this category there are also PhD programs, where you can obtain a Ph.D. with three years of study after completing a master’s degree, or four years of study after completing a bachelor’s degree.

Read more at World Education News & Reviews

Application and entry requirements

If you are interested in studying in Mexico, it is best to contact the relevant educational institution directly, as the rules for application and entry requirements often differ from place to place.

Recognition of foreign educations in Denmark

If you have completed a publicly recognized education abroad, you can have it assessed by the Danish Agency for Research and Education

Economics and education

Scholarship scheme

If you take an entire education in Mexico, or take a study stay as part of your Danish education as a guest student, you must pay tuition fees. How much varies between the different educations and universities.

As a Danish student, you can take your SU abroad. It requires that the study stay is part of your Danish education, and that your Danish place of education approves that the study stay gives full credit. You can also apply for support through a scholarship abroad that fully or partially covers study-related expenses on approved study stays.

You can read more about the possibilities for SU abroad and scholarships abroad at SU.dk – SU abroad t

You can also apply for support through private grants. You can read more about this under ‘ Scholarships and foundations ‘

Work in Mexico

Mexico suffered a severe economic crisis in the 1990s, but has been in rapid economic development since the 00s and since then. Thus, more jobs have been created and Mexico has gained a far greater trade with the outside world. The opportunity to find work in Mexico is therefore better than before. However, half of the country’s population still lives in poverty.

It is estimated that only 12.9% of the Mexican population is fluent in English, which is why working in Mexico can be a challenge if you do not speak Spanish yourself. If you can speak Spanish yourself, you therefore have a better opportunity to cope in Mexico.

Foreigners who want to work in Mexico often work in the IT industry, the banking world or with trade through larger companies. This is the case since these sectors are developing rapidly, which is why the demand for professionals is high.

The following are two websites where you can apply for jobs in Mexico:

1. Learn4Good
2. GoAbroad

Practical conditions

Visa

The Mexican authorities have stated that the following rules apply to Danes entering the country:

It is your own responsibility to comply with the entry and exit rules. It is recommended that you contact the Mexican Embassy to confirm the following:

• Visa free for up to 180 days for tourist visits on condition of
  1) Valid passport
  2) “Tourist Blue Card” or “Migration Card”, which can be requested on board the plane or on arrival in Mexico.
• Danish extended passports are recognized.
• Danish temporary passports as well as EU emergency passports are recognized at both entry and exit. If it is issued in Mexico as a replacement for a lost passport, a police report must be presented upon departure.

People with a Danish refugee or foreign passport must contact the Mexican Embassy to find out what rules apply to their entry.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strives to ensure that the information on the website is up-to-date, correct and comprehensive. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot be held responsible for any problems that have arisen in connection with entry and exit, regardless of the information on the website.

It is your own responsibility to ensure that you comply with the entry and exit rules of another country. It is the authorities of the individual countries that determine the entry and exit rules. Therefore, it is recommended that you contact the authorities of the country in question prior to your trip for e.g. to ensure that your passport is valid and that you fulfill any visa requirements. Such information you can, among other things. get from an embassy or consulate for the country you are traveling to.

Facts about Mexico

Population: 122 million.

Language: Spanish.

Employment: Unemployment was 4.8% in 2013 (INEGI).

Currency: Mexican peso.

Residence permit: To be applied for at the embassy in Mexico City. You can also contact the consular department at the Mexican Embassy in Copenhagen.