MikeTheFronterizo

Hi All! I am interested to see what types of topics did you submit for your applications? Where they term papers? A publication? Senior thesis? In my last search for programs, many require samples of at least 10 but no more than 25 pages. Others highlight that you can submit a chapter or two of a thesis. Has anybody submitted parts of a thesis? I am trying to decide between my writing samples. I have a 23 page seminar paper that came out decent though still needs a lot of additional work. On the other hand, I am working on my senior thesis that is required to be a minimum of 40 pages. My seminar paper examines how the vice industry proliferated in Tijuana, Mexico, between 1910 and 1935. I am currently researching my senior thesis but I am extending my project to provide a larger perspective on the vice industries and sexual policing along the U.S. - Mexico border mostly at the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez borderland. Thanks!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give a quick update! So far I have drastically changed the way in which I am going to approach my search. Thanks @Sigaba for the advice. I am especially putting more emphasis on number four of your post. Since I am (and all of us are) engaging in a highly intellectual area of study I am beginning to scratch away my shyness and at times lack of confidence to say that I AM A HISTORIAN! Here is a quick blurb on my area of study: I want to study the U.S.-Mexico borderlands because it provides a unique perspective that situates both Mexican and Mexican-Americans within a larger historical framework after the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848. Furthermore, the borderlands formed after 1848 began a physical, and phycological, border between Anglo-Americans and peoples of Mexican descent. I chose to focus on the border between San Diego and Tijuana because of the thin scholarly work that has surfaced within the last few decades. Most work in the region revolves around contemporary environmental issues surrounding the use of the Tijuana River Valley and reclamation of water. Historical work can only be attributed to few secondary sources many of which provide an often superficial encounter within the area of Tijuana. My last project consisted on examining the vice industry in Tijuana from 1910 to 1939 looking closely on the governors of Baja California Norte and their involvement in the industry. I am in the process of researching for my senior thesis that expands over two-quarters. The thesis is also grounded in the vice industry and looks into sexual policing along the borderland which includes Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. Along with these research interest, I want to expand my thematic field to include nationalism along the borderland, Chican@ history, race and ethnicity, American West, and indigenous histories. Updated list of Programs: UC Davis- Three possible advisors I can work with. Andres Resendez, Lorena Oropeza, and Rachel St. John. Along with that help, I can stay within the UC system. UCD is also one of the programs that have a specific "borderland" research area within the department. UC Santa Barbra- Comparative race and ethnicity with James Brooks and Veronica Castillo-Munoz. U of Michigan- With Anthony Mora. Also provides very good funding and other opportunities. UC Santa Cruz- While I am currently an undergrad here, my senior thesis advisor (Grace Pena-Delgado) is giving me very good positive feedback. She is also a specialist in the borderlands and other areas of interest. However, I want to branch out into other intellectual spheres but I am completely open and comfortable where I am at now. UT-El Paso, SMU, U of Chicago, UCI, ASU, U of Arizona Thanks Everyone!

Very cool! I myself was a transfronterizo student for much of my elementary schooling until I permanently moved to San Diego. After that, my mom lived in Tijuana for my last two years of High School in which I decided to stay in San Diego with my uncle because it was simply easier to do. The whole aspect of crossing the border and going to school led to my interest in Tijuana. I began to question how Tijuana (and pretty much all other border towns) had such a large transfronterizo community and found that the San Diego-Tijuana region lacks historical scholarship in English especially pre-1960s. Anyways, I want to stick with History because I want to do work in the historical field of the borderlands in the early 20th century. Thanks for the suggestions and I am more than willing to continue discussing border stuff with you (and anyone).

My brother is an undergrad at UCD and also recommended Lorena Oropeza! I completely forgot about looking deeper at the program there. Thank you for mentioning Rachel St. John! I just did some research on her and her area of research is pretty much identical to mine. She has an interesting paper that I have not yet come across in my research on the Tijuana vice industry of the 1910s-1930s. I wrote about the topic last quarter and I have to say it's very similar in terms of subject but Professor St. John takes another point of view that I did not think of. I am now seriously looking into UCD because of the her and the other faculty. Once again thanks!

Thank You for the suggestion. I have not heard of the CIC and now I am considering looking into the participating universities. U of Michigan looks like a nice place to study it at and the work by Mora is indeed very interesting. Very nice! I am also interested in the post 1960s but my research is intended to be pre-1960s. Specifically, I am doing work between 1900 to the 1940s in the early urbanization and economy of Tijuana. As mentioned above, I am now interested into looking at some of the CIC schools that includes Northwestern.

Hi everyone! I have been lurking around the grad cafe for a while now and finally decided to contribute and ask questions in the community! I noticed that there is not a lot of talk on Latin American, Mexican, U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, and Mexican-American History. Partly because some of them are their own majors and are interdisciplinary with History. However, as a History undergrad, I focused on the borderlands and Mexican-American History because I wanted to do History while learning all the Chican@ theory. I thought it would be a good idea to begin a thread on programs that offer a variety of specializations in the area because many of them offer a U.S. History masters/Phd in which one can specialize on transitional, borderland, or American West topics. I also wanted to know other programs out there that I have not yet discovered because many of my prospects are in the southwest specifically in California. So, I will begin with a quick blurb about myself and schools that I will be applying to in the Fall. I am a senior and History major. Currently, I am set to apply in the fall. I primarily focus on the San Diego-Tijuana border and to a greater degree Mexican-American identity and the southwest. I noticed that many schools have an interdisciplinary faculty when it comes to an area like mine. Some have a History faculty member that specializes on the subject while others have American West faculty. So I decided to look for PhD programs that seems to fit my topic either directly or with similarities. I am looking for a program that is competitive in my field and area of specialty. Many people claim that with a PhD from a top 10 University in History guarantees the best possible training and future job prospect. But many of those "top 10" do not have my area of specialization let alone History faculty that can advise me. This is my list so far (I will include additional information for the first two which are my top choices): UCSB- Offers a program History specialization on Comparative Race and Ethnicity that resembles my topic interest. There is also faculty members that is in my area of research. USC-Offers several programs in my area. Within a major field, you have a choice in areas of specialization which includes: American West, Urbanism, and Modernity. There are a lot of good faculty including the great George Sanchez. UCI, UCSD, UT-El Paso On a side note, there are other schools that I wish to apply to but given my GPA and other factors I will most likely choose only one to apply to because of my budget. They include UC Berkeley, Stanford, and UCLA. Please add to the conversation! Whether you are in this area or have some advice and suggestions, I would love to hear your input. Cheers!