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New Mexico State University is starting a new Ph.D. program this fall.
The Transborder and Global Dynamics program will research the dynamics surrounding borders ranging from the U.S.-Mexico border and other international boundaries to economic and domestic borders.
Head of the Department of Political Science, Public Law and Administration Neil Harvey, PhD, said that this new program is a great addition to NMSU.
“Because of our location close to the U.S.-Mexico border, it is important that we bring together the expertise that is already here regarding border issues and help train a new generation of students and researchers,” Harvey said.
Harvey said that he and others involved in the program hope to see this knowledge and research be used to help guide policy surrounding borders both domestically and internationally.
“This is a contentious area because of border politics for many years but I think particularly as we see today, it’s come to loom large in national politics,” Harvey said. “I think the more we can educate ourselves and communities around us and policymakers, the better.”
Affiliated faculty member Alejandro Lugo, PhD, was born in Juárez, Mexico, and raised in Las Cruces. He said that he has always been interested in topics surrounding borders but had to leave NMSU to go to Stanford to study this topic.
He said that this will no longer be the case, and this type of program is rare around the country.
“When you look at the southwest universities whether that is in Texas, in New Mexico, Arizona, and even in California, there is really no such PhD program like the one at NMSU right now,” Lugo said.
Lugo continued by saying that this program will help address real world issues affecting people from around the world.
“We need to remind ourselves that the immigrants today coming across the border from Central America, from South America and from the rest of the world through the U.S.-Mexico border are coming to precisely El Paso and Las Cruces and that this is something that needs to be addressed,” Lugo said. “This PhD program will definitely be addressing those issues.”
The program has nine students so far and the deadline to apply for the next years cohort is January 8th. There is funding for the students.
NMSU begins fall semester on August 20.
