Student Government Association: Academic programs expanding, officials say

Daniela Chapa-Reyes

UTRGV’s Graduate College presented graduate and other programs the university offers during Friday’s Student Government Association meeting on the Edinburg campus.

Salvador Contreras, an economics professor and associate dean for the Graduate College, and Volker Quetschke, a physics professor and associate dean of the Graduate College, said as UTRGV expands, with over 34,000 students this semester, so are the programs offered, including over 60 master’s programs and 11 doctoral degrees.

“We’re growing on all those degree programs and graduate programs and we are growing that for you … with you,” Quetschke said.

He said the university also offers over 40 certificate programs.

“Certificate programs are something that the industry is actually looking for,” Quetschke said. “You might have your degree in whatever your bachelor’s degree is, but industry is looking for a specialization in a certain technology or a certain field … and you can actually strengthen your degree program, your [curriculum vitae] and your application significantly.”

He said students do not need a master’s degree in order to enter the doctoral programs offered, as they are usually related to the bachelor’s degree.

“Most programs are open to anyone who has a foundation in the field; this really depends on the program,” Quetschke said. “One advice I would have is if you want to pursue any Ph.D. is talk to the programs and also talk to the faculty, because one big difference between the master’s program and the Ph.D. program will be you will be working with … [a] research mentor.” 

Jaime Ortiz, the chief global officer for Global Affairs and professor of International Business, and Caroline Miles, professor of English and director of Education Abroad, talked about why global affairs is important in student’s careers. 

“When I was your age, I never thought of leaving Chile,” Ortiz said. “In fact, I thought we had everything … but I was kind of missing out.”

He said being able to visit countries, such as Ecuador, allowed him to become “much more assertive, much more secure” about himself and allowed him to figure out what he wanted to do.

“I grew up in London and I came to America; I went to Mississippi, of all places, when I was 20 years old,” Miles said. “So, that was a bit of a culture shock and it really changed my life. So, I had that experience and … I’ve also seen the impact of that on students.”

Ortiz said the Office of Global Affairs is made up of two main units: education abroad and global issues. 

“You know some assertiveness, confidence, empathy and maturity if you know about the world, if you have a new cultural knowledge about countries, regions and continents,” he said.

Ortiz said their goal is for the entire population of the student body to be able to “master a third language.”

“We have 196 countries in the world,” he said. “I am not asking you to know all of them.”

For more information, visit the Graduate College website or the Global Affairs website.

The next SGA meeting will take place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Music, Science and Learning Center on the Brownsville campus.