WEP-Mexico

World

^{|  About
WEP |   Country
List   |   WES
|   MTCU   |
Links   |   français   |   Feedback
|}

Education Profiles

MEXICO

Country Facts

Upper Secondary Education

Higher Education

Age of Admission:
The age of admission is 16. Students seeking admission to an upper secondary institution must hold the Certificado de Educación Secundaria and, depending on the institutions' criteria, may be required to sit for an entrance examination.

Length:
Most upper secondary programmes are three years in length. Following the recommendations of the Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Institutos de Enseñanza Superior ANUIES (National Association of Institutes of Higher Education), upper-secondary programmes are generally organized into semesters with 2 credits awarded for each academic hour of theoretical study and 1 credit awarded for every hour of laboratory instruction. Academic programmes of either length include 30 to 48 semester-long courses, with an average of 130 total credits.

Institution Type
In Mexico, upper-secondary education is divided into three main categories depending on their objectives:

Propadéutica (Propadeutics), academic programmes leading to higher education.

Bivalente (Dual Programmes), programmes that combine an academic curriculum with vocational training.

Terminal (Terminal), programmes that are vocational in nature and do not lead to higher education.

Academic Programmes
Academic programmes are known as bachillerato or preparatoria (baccalaureate or preparatory) and are primarily designed to lead to higher education. The Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Institutos de Enseñanza Superior ANUIES (National Association of Institutes of Higher Education), the private regulating body for institutions of higher education, has made recommendations to the SEP to standardize upper-secondary education. Curriculum is designed by the institutions of higher education which offer bachillerato or preparatoria programmes. Therefore, a great number of preparatory programmes (over 500) are offered at the upper-secondary level. Due to such diversity of programmes, it is difficult to describe all of them. A general propaedeutics programme (also called tronco común-common core) has been proposed, by ANUIES with the following course requirement:

First Year
First Semester Mathematics I Modern World History Inorganic Chemistry Reading and Writing Workshop Research Methodology Foreign Language (generally English Academic Activities	Second Semester Mathematics II Contemporary World History Organic Chemistry Reading and Writing Workshop Computer Science Research Methodology Foreign Language Academic Activities
Second Year
First Semester Mathematics III Modern Mexican History Latin-America Literature Greek-Latin Etymology Biology Introduction to Social Science Foreign Language	Secondary Semester Mathematics IV Contemporary Mexican History World Literature Logic Human Morphology and Physiology Mexican Judiciary System Foreign Language
Third Year
First Semester Mathematics V Organization I Mexican Socioeconomic Structure Ethics Heat and Mechanics Human Relations and Communication Foreign Language Academic Activities	Secondary Semester Ecology Organization II Leadership Philosophy Waves, Electricity and Magnetism Creative and Research Project Foreign Language Academic Activities

Source: Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Plan de Estudios del Bachillerato General, 1997.
Degrees and Certificates
Upon completion of the programme, students obtain the title of Bachiller (bachelor) which is indicated on the Certificado de Estudios (Transcript). This certificate mentions the area of concentration, if specified.

Combine Vocational and Academic Education (Bivalente)
These are programmes designed to prepare students for higher education, while at the same time providing vocational training in a specialized field. They are referred to as the bachillerato técnico (Technical Baccalaureate), or preparatoria técnica (Technical Preparatory). They are generally three years in length and include more courses than a general bachilleratos, since 20% to 50% of the curriculum is devoted to the vocational component.

Degrees and Certificates
Upon completion of the bivalente programme, students receive the title of Bachiller Técnico (Technical Bachelor) which allows the holder to either enter an institution of higher education or pursue a career in the chosen field specialization.

Professional, Vocational and Technical Education (Terminal)
Vocational programmes are designed to prepare students for a specific vocational field and do not lead to higher education. They are generally three years in length, but programmes ranging from one to four years are also available. Vocational programmes use a similar credit system as the academic programmes (2 credits for each hour of theoretical instruction, and 1 credit for each hour of laboratory practice). These programmes require a minimum of 150 total credits for graduation. At least 50% to 70% of the curriculum is devoted to courses in the vocational specialization. After successful completion of the programme, students are awarded the title of Técnico (Technician), Técnico Profesional (Professional Technician), or Profesional Técnico (Technical Professional), depending on the field of specialization.

In other cases, the title awarded reflects the area of vocational specialization. For example; Enfermero (Nurse), Partera (Midwife), or Trabajadora Social (Social Worker).