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Mexican Migration Field Research And Training Program


The Mexican Migration Field Research Program (MMFRP) is a nationally and internationally renowned academic program housed at the University of California, San Diego. The program:

  • Trains the next generation of immigrant advocates, giving them substantive expertise on international migration and advanced skills in data collection and analysis
  • Expands our knowledge of the consequences of migration and forced displacement, using fieldwork-based, binational, team research
  • Disseminates its findings through publications, web-based reports and briefings for public officials and the mass media

During the year-long program, approximately 35 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate on an interdisciplinary, multinational research team. Through coursework and time in the field, students develop skills to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data using established methods from the social sciences. The classroom component of MMFRP consists of a sequence of courses in which students learn about international migration, field research methods, and academic writing. Participants also spend a minimum of nine days in the field gathering data. 

For more information and eligibility see https://mmfrp.org (and click "Apply" to apply).

In 2024-2025, we will study labor rights and climate justice among Latinx communities in California’s Imperial Valley, together with Comite Cívico del Valle and Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition.

The program satisfies practicum requirements for 6th (ELO), 7th (high impact), and 8th. It also makes up most of the UCSD Human Rights & Migration minor and counts toward USP and Sociology majors. All costs are covered for you.

Requirements & Eligibility

Requirements: Required courses include:

  • FALL or BEFORE: ONE course on migration, which may include USP 162 (Migration and the City), SOCI 125: Sociology of Immigration, SOCI 133; Immigration in Comparative Perspective, or SOCI 163: Migration and the Law, OR SOCI 127: Immigration, Race and Ethnicity (If you’ve already taken one of these, you may skip the Fall course).
  • WINTER: USP 188/SOCI 188 (Fieldwork in Migrant Communities) – ** 8 units (note: this course fulfills both Sociology and USP methods requirements and counts for both majors)
  • SPRING: USP 188B (Research Analysis and Reporting)

In winter, there are 3 required two-day trips to Imperial County, CA to interview migrants, likely Fri-Sat weeks 3, 5, and 7. All transport, hotel & food expenses are paid. Due to the schedule and demands of fieldwork, we recommend a max of 1-2 other courses in winter. Most students also work paid jobs during the program.

Eligibility: To participate, students must speak Spanish and commit to four courses (1 fall, 2 winter, 1 spring). Preference goes to 3rd years and up.

We welcome DACA and undocumented students. If you are a student parent, please reach out to the director to make relevant scheduling accommodations.

We occasionally make exceptions to the Spanish and year/standing requirements for talented students.

Apply

To apply, please fill out this linked form and enroll in USP 162 for Summer Session II or Fall 2024 (OR in SOCI 125, 127, or 163).

Admissions is ROLLING until full, and you will be notified within a month.

MMFRP Public Scholars

The UCSD Public Scholars Award was launched in 2012 by the Center on Global Justice to enable well-respected leaders from community-based organizations in the San Diego-Tijuana region to engage in partnerships with faculty and students from UCSD. This program was designed to acknowledge the investments our partners and their clients make when working with UCSD students and faculty, as a matter of equity and respect. Universities benefit from the knowledge, social capital, physical spaces, and time of community partners, and we are ethically responsible for recognizing these contributions to campus research, teaching, and service efforts. In 2021, we began extending this award to partners of the Mexican Migration Field Research Program, to help us develop projects together and find innovative ways of exchanging experiences and knowledges. This “meeting of knowledges” enables the university to engage more ethically, elevating the public scholars as ambassadors for their communities inside the campus, helping to critically frame the challenges that need to be prioritized in the construction of new educational and research agendas.