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Program Description This program was established in 2004 as a core activity of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California-San Diego, in collaboration with UCSD’s Eleanor Roosevelt College. The program has three principal goals:
In January 2005, students participating in this program conducted more than 600 interviews in two migrant-sending communities in the states of Jalisco and Zacatecas.
Students admitted to this program are trained to collect field data using standardized questionnaires (survey research) as well as unstructured interviews and participant-observation. They do in-depth reading and write papers on the region and the communities in which they will be conducting fieldwork. Participating students are required to be fluent in Spanish upon admission to the program or by September of the year in which they begin the program. They are also expected to have taken one or more “survey” courses on international migration, as background for their participation in this program. When they complete this program, students will have completed the requirements for the interdisciplinary Minor in International Migration Studies at UCSD, a valuable professional credential. This program is particularly important as a career development opportunity for Latino/Latina students. Of the 24 participants in the 2004-05 academic year, 20 are Latinos (either first or second-generation immigrants, born to parents originating in Mexico, Peru, and Cuba); 2 are Anglos; 1 is a Chinese-American; and 1 is a Pakistani-American. One is a Mexican student based at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City. All students report that their participation in this program has been a life-changing experience. They have gained an understanding of the Mexico-to-U.S. migration experience that could never have been obtained through on-campus study and that equals or exceeds in sophistication what even senior scholars in the immigration field typically possess. The students’ commitment to public service careers devoted to migrants’ rights has been strengthened immeasurably by their direct exposure to the border crossing experiences and sacrifices made by migrants and their families. A jointly written, comprehensive report on the field research will be published by CCIS and UCSD’s Eleanor Roosevelt College during the summer following each year’s project. This report will be posted – in English and Spanish -- on the Internet sites of the communities where fieldwork was conducted as well as the CCIS and Eleanor Roosevelt College sites. The report will also be distributed in hard copy through CCIS and its publications distributor, Lynne Rienner Publishers (Boulder, Col.). For the student co-authors, this will be their first published work. This program is led by Wayne Cornelius, Gildred Professor of Political Science and U.S.-Mexican Relations and Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD. He interviews and admits the students, trains them in field research methods, supervises them throughout the fieldwork period, and mentors them as they analyze the data collected in the field sites and write up the results. He also advises those students who opt to write a senior honors thesis based on the field research data collected through this program, and he counsels all participating students on their career directions. Each year, the fieldwork for this program will be conducted in cooperation with migration researchers at a Mexican university whose campus is in close proximity to the field research sites. In 2004-05, the collaborating Mexican institution was the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (specifically, the Doctorado en Estudios del Desarrollo), which provided a team of five graduate students to participate in the field interviewing in Las Animas, Zacatecas. In January 2006, fieldwork will be conducted in the state of Yucatán, in collaboration with researchers at the Centro INAH-Yucatán. The budget for this program is approximately $35,000 per year, most of which goes toward scholarships for the participating students. The scholarships cover air fare, ground transportation, We are seeking extramural funds to cover scholarships for both UCSD and Mexico-based students (we would like to expand the participation of students from Mexican universities), as well as travel funds and per diem to enable the Mexico-based students to visit UCSD for two weeks during the Fall Quarter and participate in the final stage of pre-fieldwork classroom training. Funds are also needed to cover the costs of publishing a Spanish-language edition of the project report.
For further information on the Mexican Migration Field Research and Training Program, please visit http://www.polisci.ucsd.edu/cornelius/ or contact Wayne Cornelius at wcorneli@ucsd.edu, or tel. 858-822-4447. More detailed information on UCSD’s Minor in International Migration Studies can be downloaded from: http://www.ccis-ucsd.org/Programs/underminor.htm To read the article, "Fieldworkers on the Frontera: Team of Undergraduate Researchers Pioneers Program in Mexican Migration," visit: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/thisweek/2005/june/06_13_migration.asp Comments by student participants in the 2004-05 program: “My experience with the Mexican Migration Field Research and Training Program has been very intellectually stimulating. Interviewing returned and potential migrants in their hometowns enabled me to better appreciate and contextualize the Mexican migratory experience, as explained by the migrants themselves. As a member of a field research team I not only improved my communication and teamwork skills, I also gained valuable research experience that will undoubtedly help me as I pursue a career in immigration law. All students should have the opportunity to participate in fieldwork; it provides an unbounded and unique learning space. Most importantly, field research establishes a direct communication between students and the population being studied.” “My participation in the field research was a truly a rewarding experience. The program gave me the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the lives of people who live in an environment completely different from the one that we are used to (and often take for granted) here in the United States. I witnessed the conditions that often force people to leave their native land. The project was also a “hands-on” learning experience about the process -- as well as the hard work -- involved in conducting a research project. Every student should have the opportunity to participate in a field research project and share in the kinds of experiences that have helped me to grow both as a student and as a person.” – Luz María Hernríquez “Most field research methods courses, even at the graduate level, do not give the students the opportunity to actually apply the theoretical frameworks that we learn through texts. This intensive fieldwork experience allowed me to actually practice the fieldwork techniques/strategies before conducting my own thesis research. In this sense I feel like I am "ahead of the game.” Giving undergraduates this chance at such an early stage in their academic careers gives them a great advantage that many graduate students would envy. On a personal level, we met many wonderful, kind people whose often-tragic stories reinforced our ideas about how privileged and lucky we are to live in the United States. The quality of information we were able to gather as well as the fond memories we all have of our time there made this fieldwork experience invaluable on many levels.” -- Edith Tejeda
“This program is an amazing opportunity for students to truly understand why immigrants opt to leave their countries of origin and make such huge sacrifices to come to the United States. It gives students the chance to use their social and communication skills to dig deep into immigrants’ journeys.” – Evelyn Lucio
“Living in the U.S., we are familiar with only one side of the immigration phenomenon. This field research program enabled us to understand the other side: What drives people to leave all they know and love, to come and live a harsh life in the U.S.? We met many people who had not only made this journey but were planning to do so again, knowing fully the possible consequences. Personally, as a daughter of immigrants, it helped me to better understand why my parents came here and what a great gift they gave me by doing so.” – Elizabeth Valdez-Suiter “This program has been the most valuable educational experience of my college career. The chance to help migrants by shedding light on their arduous journey northward has humbled me and opened my eyes to the harsh realities of their situation. My experiences in this program have been unforgettable. Professor Cornelius took in unskilled, inexperienced students and molded them into proficient social scientists.” -- James Besada "I have always been grateful to my parents for taking the risk of coming to the United States from Taiwan. Being raised in an immigrant family, I have experienced the trials and tribulations of adapting to a brand-new
“I feel very fortunate to have been part of this research team, because social science undergraduates are at a disadvantage when it comes to research opportunities. I never got the chance to study abroad for a full quarter or academic year during my undergraduate career, but this field research program had a greater impact on me than any study-abroad program could have had. It has helped me set my future goals for the study of international law.” Click here to go to Photo Gallery
Center for Comparative Immigration Studies Telephone: (858) 822-4447 |
Admission to the program is competitive: fewer than half of the students who applied for 2004-05 were accepted, based on screening interviews, academic records, and personal statements). UCSD students admitted to the program must commit to a full academic year of participation, which includes one quarter of intensive training in field research methods (Fall Quarter), one quarter of data collection in Mexico and post-fieldwork data processing at UCSD (Winter Quarter), and a final quarter of data analysis and write-up. UCSD students receive a total of 20 units of credits toward graduation for their participation in the program. Mexico-based students can also receive academic or public-service credit for their participation, depending on procedures at their home university. 
lodging, meals, and medical expenses while in Mexico during fieldwork, as well as the purchase of supplies and equipment used by the students in the field. The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies provides a graduate student teaching assistant who works with the undergraduates throughout the academic year and helps to supervise their work during the field research practicum. UCSD’s Eleanor Roosevelt College supports publication of the field research report and provides academic advising for students who declare the Minor in International Migration Studies. Additional support is provided by the Tinker Foundation (New York).
“There are few experiences in college that can color your life in a way that you had never imagined possible. Being a part of an amazing field research team working together to accomplish remarkable results is the most rewarding experience I have had at UCSD. Not only did I gain a new understanding of the human struggle to better one’s life; I came to realize how fortunate I am to be unbounded by international borders.” -- Jezmin Fuentes
“The primary reason I chose UCSD as a transfer student was the opportunity to engage in field research on immigration. As an immigrant myself, I liked Professor Cornelius’ vision of involving his students, to not only read about but to see first-hand the conditions that lead migrants to leave their hometowns. Professor Cornelius’ openness to students’ ideas makes the program even more exciting, because it lets students shape the questionnaires and other aspects of the fieldwork…. The immigrants whom we studied did not seem so ordinary after learning how they embarked on frightening journeys for the chance to make a better life for them and their families.”
”The opportunities are few for an undergraduate student attending a prestigious university to be rigorously trained in field research and be able to put it into practice in an actual social setting, as we did. My experience in Tlacuitapa was life-altering and humbling. The personal bonds I built through my interactions with numerous families, children, and abused women who shared their experiences as migrants or victims of immigration will stay with me forever. Their willingness to participate in our research project, their hospitality, and their hope for a better future made this project a true success in my eyes. This experience has changed my view of immigration and deepened my passion to pursue a career in public policy and law in the area of immigration.” – Anjanette Urdanivia
“This program gives social science students a chance to do significant research at the undergraduate level. The majority of my friends at UCSD are undergraduate or graduate students in engineering and the sciences, and in their years here they have all had extensive opportunities to work in labs alongside professors and gain practical research experience. Such opportunities are much more limited for humanities and social science majors. In the Mexican Migration Field Research Program, students work alongside Professor Cornelius and a graduate student teaching assistant, developing questionnaires, absorbing background information on the fieldwork site in Mexico, listening to guest researchers’ experiences, conducting surveys in Mexico, coding and analyzing data, and co-authoring a book based on all this. I got just as much out of two weeks of fieldwork in the small town of Tlacuitapa, Mexico, as I did from half a year of study abroad in the relatively grander, more cosmopolitan, Mediterranean city of Barcelona. I would add that the program is open to everyone with the necessary language skills and motivation. My classmates this year range from 19-year old sophomore students to fifth-year seniors to 28-year-old transfer students, all from different backgrounds. I know of no other class on campus, at least in the social sciences and humanities, where such a diverse group of students work so closely together. – Caitlin White
“Spending three months in a classroom learning about a far-away place and the social, political, and historical realities associated with it is nothing new in a university. But to have the opportunity to then go to that place and have conversations with the people involved in those realities has been one of the truly defining moments in my life as a student. Traveling to Tlacuitapa and seeing the small town that I had read numerous articles about was amazing. Being able to interact with the people who lived there and discuss their lives and migration histories was the most effective learning tool I have ever had. In class we had read about people hiring people smugglers to take them across the border and some of the horrors associated with the crossing, but it was all so abstract. Going to Tlacuitapa put human faces on all this. I met an old man who participated in the original “bracero” program. Another man talked about the time when he crossed the border into California and three men in his group died in the desert. The people whom I interviewed were like talking textbooks.” – Fawad Shaiq
“My discoveries from our recent fieldwork experience enhanced tremendously my understanding of migrants’ efforts to go north. Each interviewee enlightened me by sharing his or her personal experiences in crossing the border – images that will vividly remain with me. Closely encountering the habitants of Tlacuitapa, Jalisco, has also given me a new perspective on how they lead their daily lives, how they relate to one another, and how they respond to out-of-town visitors like myself. Students who participate in this program can expect cultural enrichment through priceless ‘onsite teaching’ encounters with real-life events.”
“The field research was the most interesting and challenging experience of my University career. Although I was at first anxious about invading peoples’ homes, my anxiety turned to excitement upon completing my first interview, when I was invited into a home for a delicious bowl of menudo. It wan't the only time I broke bread with a family, and sitting down to listen to a family’s story was a real highlight of my experiences in the field. Our project is a proactive study, seeking to influence debates on issues that affect the lives of migrants. The data that we gathered can be used to question immigration policies based on fear and misinformation. During the fieldwork I was able to balance serious academic research with quality social interaction. This project will help me advance into further research in the immigration field, and I had a great time doing it.” – Rob Oliphant
“The fieldwork was exactly what I needed to complete my education here at UCSD. It was a life-changing experience. I learned many things about myself, and the research gave me a better appreciation for life and family. My father and mother both came from Michoacán, Mexico, illegally. They never wanted to talk about their struggles because they wanted to protect their children from the truth. Going to Tlacuitapa made me appreciate everything that my parents have done for my family and has made me even prouder of their accomplishments. I heard many sides of the migrant experience. I was struck by how migrants migrated to the United States under terrible conditions but still would not think twice about going back.” – Yesenia Barajas 
“The field research was an unbelievable and fascinating experience. Although the town of Tlacuitapa is small and conservative, the people were surprisingly open and candid. They spoke about very personal and sensitive topics ranging from family separation to corruption in the Mexican political system. As a second-year student at UCSD, the opportunity to work with Professor Cornelius and 24 other wonderful individuals has given me a new sense of confidence and a new meaning to my undergraduate studies. I now have a sense of direction about my future goals and aspirations.” -- Brisella Canto
“Hearing first-hand the experiences, aspirations, and tribulations of people who migrate influenced me in a manner that now impels me to do something to better their status quo, rather that just theorizing or speculating as to why these conditions came to exist in the first place.” – Henry L’Esperance Alvarez
“This program gave me, as an immigrant to the U.S., an excellent opportunity to discover how other migrants have taken on the burden of crossing the border and starting from scratch in another country. The migrants’ real-life stories have strengthened my desire to study immigration law. The great people involved in the program made the teamwork easier and the research more interesting and fun.” 
“Having the opportunity to do field research within the heart of Mexico was a phenomenal experience. The skills that I gained working on this project have taken my interest in immigration research to a new level. It was the highlight of my college career.” 
“Having the opportunity to do fieldwork Mexico was awakening on both an academic and personal level. It was very satisfying to know that our preparations in the prior quarter were being utilized to do serious research for the project. This feeling helped to raise my confidence level about my education in general. Being a first-generation American, it was touching to hear the experiences my interviewees had endured. At times I found myself trading stories with interviewees about our experiences in the agricultural fields. Many reminded me of my relatives. These commonalities allowed me to embrace the research not only as a young social scientist but as an individual who was given the opportunity to do such work by migrants who came to this country illegally.“ – Henry López