The University Network was started in Jalisco by the University of Guadalajara, and has been the main driving force behind the creation and consolidation of the Program of the Doctorate in City, Territory and Sustainability. The collaborative effort of a large team of specialists and researchers at different Centers of the Network, and the invaluable support of the Consolidated Academic Group of the Center for Research into the Environment and Territorial Regulation (UDG-CA-11) at the University Center for Art, Architecture and Design (CUAAD), has improved the range of options available for quality postgraduate studies. A significant number of academics from institutions in Mexico and abroad have also contributed the fruits of their experience, skill and commitment over the years to simplifying the procedures involved in running the program, while also strengthening the ties of an academic, inter-institutional and interdisciplinary kind necessary in a Program like this.
During the 19 years of its existence, the Postgraduate Program has always encouraged the development of inclusive topics of research, and the study of vulnerable groups such as the old, and children, and more recently questions of gender, women, and the city. So far, the Postgraduate Program has awarded a degree to 119 students, of whom 67 are men and 52 are women (44%). Currently it has 16 Full Time Professors, 9 of whom are women (56%), and 43 regular students, of whom 18 are women (42%).
In 2017, the program of the Doctorate was re-evaluated, and recognized by the National Program of Postgraduate Studies of Excellence (PNPC) as Consolidated, which has been a great encouragement for upholding the rigorous standards that are required for international recognition. Currently the Postgraduate program is working on all the information needed for the forthcoming evaluation of 2021, as well as bringing the Course of Studies up to date and including Guidelines for the Creation and Application of Knowledge, while aiming to bring in as a priority for research, topics such as gender, citizenship, poverty and empowerment.
The Doctorate program is offered today as a quality option for a PhD qualification which will be awarded to those who have mastered the subject of urban-territorial studies and intervention, the development and the management of geographical space and urban dynamics, after following a course that adopts an interdisciplinary and scientific approach, in the context of globalized processes of the Information society, and will help towards achieving a sustainable, humane and responsible future, through the creation of fresh and relevant knowledge and the use of appropriate technologies.
The quality of the Program has led the Central University of Ecuador to sign a Specific Covenant with the University of Guadalajara to offer the Postgraduate Program in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism in Quito, Ecuador, for the preparation of its academic members. At present, the Generation of 2017A-2020B has 10 researchers who have been awarded a PhD qualification and 1 who is working to receive it. The same Covenant was renewed in 2019 and those in the Program today are from Generation “B”, which has 11 students from that University.
Dra. María Teresa Pérez Bourzac
Coordinator
