Academic Programs
Degrees That Work for You!
The School of Interdisciplinary Programs and Community Engagement (SIPCE) hosts interdisciplinary programs that provide students with valuable knowledge, high-impact skills, and meaningful experiences.
Potential Career Paths SIPCE's Programs Prepare You For:
Human Resources Specialist* Project Manager * Program Administration * Eco-Tourism Professional * Patient Care Specialist * Production Assistant * Publicist * Medical Office Assistant * Press Agent * Administrative Coordinator * Health and Wellness Specialist * Health Care Recruiter * Film Archivist * Community Arts Worker * Health Educator * Casting Director * Talent Agent * Screenwriter * Film Critic * Community Documentarian * Politician * Professional Blogger * Media Industry Specialist * Editor * Teacher * Event Coordinator * Education Support Specialist * Academic Advisor * Program Coordinator * Museum Specialist * Community Advocate * Activist * Wellness Director * Non-Government Organization Officer * Legislative Advocate * Public Service Specialist * Non-profit/human rights and peace organizations manager * Medical Scribe * Community Organizer * Law Enforcement * Legal Aid * Patient Advocate * Employee Relation Officer * Change Management Specialist * Hate Crime Specialist * Public Affairs Assistant
Environmental Studies
The Environmental Studies minor at UTRGV is an interdisciplinary collaboration in environment and sustainability. Environmental Studies courses integrate the academic disciplines of natural science, social science, and humanities, providing skill and knowledge applicable to the pursuit of solutions to environmental challenges faced globally, nationally, regionally, and locally. The program nurtures interdisciplinary academic training for undergraduate and graduate students, provides guidance for students with career aspirations in environment and sustainability venues, promotes diverse professional education experiences, fosters fundamental and applied research, forms meaningful connections with communities beyond the university, and integrates innovative, interdisciplinary programs unified by the themes of environmental research.
Food Studies minor
The Food Studies minor is especially valuable for students who
- Major is disciplines concerned with nutrition, health, food, and food production, which include but are not limited to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, Nutritional Sciences, Environmental Science, Nutritional Sciences, and Integrated Health Science.
- Wish to add more of an emphasis on food and food systems to their humanities and social sciences major (e.g. History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Social Work, etc.).
- Purse a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies that allows students to combine three minors.
Gender & Women’s Studies Program
UTRGV's Gender & Women’s Studies Program (GWSP) provides inclusive learning environments to advance interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching, and community engagement that analyze and transform the dynamics of gender, sexuality, and other intersectional categories of difference. By placing women, gender, and sexuality at the center of our research and teaching, the GWSP expands our understandings of diverse human experiences as well as promotes global justice and more equitable futures. The Program cultivates students’ critical thinking skills to succeed in a broad spectrum of careers and fosters social awareness attuned to the culturally rich region of the Rio Grande Valley, the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and beyond.
Human Dimensions of Organizations
The Human Dimensions of Organizations Program (HDO) at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) teaches students to use the disciplines of the liberal arts to understand workplace interactions and solve human-centered problems. The program places analytical reasoning, creativity, innovation, and effective communication at the center of its curriculum to promote the value of a liberal arts education in the workforce. This major is intended for students who envision themselves solving human-centered problems in organizations including business, government, nonprofits, and the military.
Mexican American Studies
The mission of Mexican American Studies at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is to recognize, validate and engage with students, faculty, and Mexican American, Chican@ and Latin@ communities as agents of conocimiento (knowledge). Our position on the U.S.-Mexico border requires and enables MAS to have a simultaneous local and hemispheric concentration. This unique transcultural context shapes academic and public conversations regionally, nationally and globally. Our place-based pedagogies and transdisciplinary methods provide a holistic approach to the study of complex and dynamic Mexican American experiences.
Multidisciplinary Studies
The Multidisciplinary Studies degree program allows students to custom design a plan of study that brings together course work from three disciplines rather than the two disciplines reflected by the traditional academic major/minor format.
Degrees in Public Heritage & Community Engagement
The Public Heritage & Community Engagement degrees at UTRGV combine the fields of Public History, Critical Cultural Heritage Studies, and Museum Studies to investigate the development, contestations, and implications of shared interpretation, valuation, and appreciation of places, buildings, natural landscapes, traditions, and objects. Program emphasis is placed on the critical role of community partnerships in these endeavors, helping students build the skills and networks that they will need for employment in multiple sectors after graduation.