Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory 24 months Postgraduate Programme By Universidad de Guadalajara (UDG) |TopUniversities

Programme overview

Main Subject

Geography

Degree

Other

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

The Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory is the postgraduate program offered by the Department of Geography and Territorial Planning (DGOT) from September 2000 according to Opinion I/99/492, for all those with a profile linked to the areas of social sciences, economics or related fields.

The program of study offered is a two-year, tutorial-based, and cohort-based course of study, which was modified in February 2006 according to Ruling I/2006/055, which remains in effect. Currently, the fourteenth cohort has enrolled, beginning on January 16, 2025, with ten students: seven Mexican nationals and three international students from Cuba and Colombia.

In terms of its accreditations, the Master's program is integrated into the National Registry of Quality Graduate Programs (PNPC-CONACYT), with a consolidated level and a research orientation. In 2004, it joined the Graduate Program Strengthening Program (PIFOP-CONACYT); while since 2006, it has been part of the PNPC-CONACYT, with an initial five-year accreditation, obtaining reaccreditations at the same level in 2011 (four years); 2015 (four years); 2018 (three years); and 2022 (five years).

Regarding local development, as an empirical-analytical perspective, it was proposed from the end of the 1970s, in the field of socio-economic research, focused on subnational territories that promoted economic growth initiatives for job creation and territorial planning (Lozano Uvario, 2021). 

Globally, both globalization and decentralization processes have fostered a greater influence of subnational governments, as well as the participation and involvement of economic and social actors in solving local problems related to the proper management and use of local resources, sustainability, and the promotion of local capacities to achieve proper governance. 

At the same time, neoliberal approaches in the application of economic policy, in the agenda of political and social reforms, and the recent forms of internationalization of production and capital, have given rise to new realities in national and subnational territories, which has allowed the perspective of local development to acquire greater relevance in the understanding of the global-local dialectic, as well as in the participation of different actors in the transformation of society, with a “more concrete and contextualized vision of the analysis and of development policies from each local sphere (Alburquerque, 2015: 50)” (Lozano Uvario, 2021).

In this context, the policies of subsidiarity, which emphasize decision-making by the authorities closest to the problems, “based on general principles and laws that link local processes with their regional, national and international environment (Think globally and act locally)” (Maass, 2019, p. 30), recognize that the local scale becomes more efficient for the management of socio-ecosystems, based on the capacities for action and support of the local population and the social actors involved. 

Therefore, analyzing development processes from a local development perspective allows us to identify endogenous dynamics based not only on growth and employment within communities, but also on the valuation of local resources and the consideration of the social, cultural, and identity-related characteristics of each place. By taking into account the local origins of development, we value the emergence of local initiatives and the empowerment of local actors to act and even offer an alternative to the exogenous dynamics present in their territories. Furthermore, by considering it not only theoretical but also practical, this approach allows us to act upon and manage places based on their potential resources, as well as the individual and collective capacities of society to generate and accumulate wealth according to its own defined vision. Hence, it remains relevant for analyzing the development challenges of the 21st century.

In this scenario, the Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory offers society in general - national as well as international - and Jalisco in particular, the opportunity to train researchers with the ability to analyze, manage and offer answers to problems related to local development in specific territories, as well as those arising from the dynamics of territorial development, in the construction of current and future scenarios.

The Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory advocates for developing training from a geographical, comprehensive and inclusive perspective, from which graduates will enter the workforce not only as researchers, but also as managers of local development, promoting the construction of visions from the promotion of territory and sustainability, supporting the construction of places from the recognition and responsibility of the actors in the conservation of ecosystems, in the proposal of participatory alternatives, through sustainable, community and integrated management.

Programme overview

Main Subject

Geography

Degree

Other

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

The Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory is the postgraduate program offered by the Department of Geography and Territorial Planning (DGOT) from September 2000 according to Opinion I/99/492, for all those with a profile linked to the areas of social sciences, economics or related fields.

The program of study offered is a two-year, tutorial-based, and cohort-based course of study, which was modified in February 2006 according to Ruling I/2006/055, which remains in effect. Currently, the fourteenth cohort has enrolled, beginning on January 16, 2025, with ten students: seven Mexican nationals and three international students from Cuba and Colombia.

In terms of its accreditations, the Master's program is integrated into the National Registry of Quality Graduate Programs (PNPC-CONACYT), with a consolidated level and a research orientation. In 2004, it joined the Graduate Program Strengthening Program (PIFOP-CONACYT); while since 2006, it has been part of the PNPC-CONACYT, with an initial five-year accreditation, obtaining reaccreditations at the same level in 2011 (four years); 2015 (four years); 2018 (three years); and 2022 (five years).

Regarding local development, as an empirical-analytical perspective, it was proposed from the end of the 1970s, in the field of socio-economic research, focused on subnational territories that promoted economic growth initiatives for job creation and territorial planning (Lozano Uvario, 2021). 

Globally, both globalization and decentralization processes have fostered a greater influence of subnational governments, as well as the participation and involvement of economic and social actors in solving local problems related to the proper management and use of local resources, sustainability, and the promotion of local capacities to achieve proper governance. 

At the same time, neoliberal approaches in the application of economic policy, in the agenda of political and social reforms, and the recent forms of internationalization of production and capital, have given rise to new realities in national and subnational territories, which has allowed the perspective of local development to acquire greater relevance in the understanding of the global-local dialectic, as well as in the participation of different actors in the transformation of society, with a “more concrete and contextualized vision of the analysis and of development policies from each local sphere (Alburquerque, 2015: 50)” (Lozano Uvario, 2021).

In this context, the policies of subsidiarity, which emphasize decision-making by the authorities closest to the problems, “based on general principles and laws that link local processes with their regional, national and international environment (Think globally and act locally)” (Maass, 2019, p. 30), recognize that the local scale becomes more efficient for the management of socio-ecosystems, based on the capacities for action and support of the local population and the social actors involved. 

Therefore, analyzing development processes from a local development perspective allows us to identify endogenous dynamics based not only on growth and employment within communities, but also on the valuation of local resources and the consideration of the social, cultural, and identity-related characteristics of each place. By taking into account the local origins of development, we value the emergence of local initiatives and the empowerment of local actors to act and even offer an alternative to the exogenous dynamics present in their territories. Furthermore, by considering it not only theoretical but also practical, this approach allows us to act upon and manage places based on their potential resources, as well as the individual and collective capacities of society to generate and accumulate wealth according to its own defined vision. Hence, it remains relevant for analyzing the development challenges of the 21st century.

In this scenario, the Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory offers society in general - national as well as international - and Jalisco in particular, the opportunity to train researchers with the ability to analyze, manage and offer answers to problems related to local development in specific territories, as well as those arising from the dynamics of territorial development, in the construction of current and future scenarios.

The Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory advocates for developing training from a geographical, comprehensive and inclusive perspective, from which graduates will enter the workforce not only as researchers, but also as managers of local development, promoting the construction of visions from the promotion of territory and sustainability, supporting the construction of places from the recognition and responsibility of the actors in the conservation of ecosystems, in the proposal of participatory alternatives, through sustainable, community and integrated management.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements:
 1. Bachelor's degree or graduation certificate, in the areas of social sciences, economics or related fields. 
2. Bachelor's degree certificate with an average grade higher than 80 (eighty) or its equivalent. 
3. Letter of commitment to full-time availability to pursue the academic program.
4. Current certificate that accredits reading comprehension of a foreign language (English), issued or recognized by the Foreign Language Center (CELEX) of CUCSH. 
5. Two academic letters of recommendation. 
6. Application for admission to the University of Guadalajara http://tramitepi.escolar.udg.mx/RegistroPI/
7. Letter explaining your reasons for taking the program addressed to the Academic Board of the Master's Degree in Local Development and Territory (free format).
 
Admission requirements to be evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively by the Academic Board: 
 
8. Submit an updated curriculum vitae with supporting documentation (digital and printed), including copies of documents prepared for undergraduate degrees (thesis, dissertation, dissertation, etc.), and publications produced individually or jointly. Foreign applicants must include a copy of their passport or National Identity Document (DNI) as identification.
9. Presentation of a research project that addresses the Lines of Generation and Application of Knowledge (LGAC): a) Urban space and local development, b) Territory and management, and involves some problem related to one of the following themes:
 
a) Tourism, landscape and heritage
b) Local production systems, restructuring and production dynamics
c) Migration, work and gender
d) Economic and sociocultural changes in rural and peri-urban societies
e) Territorial planning and management
f) Urban processes, marginalization and socio-spatial segregation
g) Environment and sustainability
 
10. Results of the National Postgraduate Entrance Examination (EXANI-III)
11. Attendance and accreditation of the preparatory course 
12. Interview with two members of the Academic Board and/or members of the core academic staff. 

2 Years
Aug

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