UTEP Graduate Students from Mexico Earn Prestigious Scholarships

By Press release submission

Dec 10, 2022

Sixteen doctoral students at The University of Texas at El Paso were awarded a prestigious scholarship from Consejo nacional de ciencias y tecnología (CONACYT), or the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology, an agency that supports Mexican citizens pursuing graduate studies abroad. Awardees receive tuition support, a monthly stipend and financial support for health insurance while they are pursuing their studies.

Nineteen UTEP students submitted applications, the highest number of any school in The University of Texas System. With 16 awards granted, UTEP received approximately half of the 33 total awards granted across the System. CONACYT granted a total of 280 awards around the world for doctoral studies in science and humanities.

“The number of scholarships received across many programs helps illustrate both UTEP's engagement with students from Mexico and our excellence in research,” said Stephen Crites, Ph.D., dean of the UTEP Graduate School and associate provost for graduate studies. “The CONACYT scholarships give these bright and motivated students the opportunity to focus on their scholarship and help launch them to a successful career.”

Awardees from the latest round of CONACYT funding are enrolled in doctoral programs at UTEP in environmental, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering; teaching; computer and data science; geological science; biology; English; and interdisciplinary health sciences.

Raphael Ivan Reyes Juárez, a doctoral candidate in English in UTEP’s College of Liberal Arts, said the scholarship provides more than just funding.

“It provides credibility, inspiration, focus and hope for those of us who dream of a better world,” he said. “Academically, this scholarship is helping me build a stronger community where education is just as important as our health and our environment."

Isaac Frausto Hernandez is pursuing his doctorate in teaching, learning and culture in the College of Education. He said that receiving the CONACYT scholarship eases his mind about his finances and will allow him to focus full-time on his studies.

“My academic plans include continuing to publish academic work, networking with others in my field, and ultimately obtaining a full-time teaching and research position at a public university either in the United States or in Mexico,” he said. “Since the economic aspect will now be covered by CONACYT, I will be happy to dedicate myself full-time to being a student.”

Bianca Alvarez Dueñas said that the scholarship will help her achieve her dream of completing a doctoral degree in computer science, with a focus on smart cities research.

“I am interested in contributing to research into the relationship between technology and the environment to predict responses that can help us make better decisions to have more sustainable, prosperous and safer communities,” she said.

Other recipients include:

Gibran Roberto Cano Gutierrez, Civil Engineering

Rosa Olimpia Castellanos Vargas, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences

Katya Esquivel Herrera, Geological Sciences

Valeria Frias Ruiz, Teaching, Learning and Culture

Juan Pablo Garcia Chavira, Mechanical Engineering

Michel Eduardo Luna Lucero, Geological Sciences

Sharon Stephania Murillo Melchor, Civil Engineering

Jesus Manuel Ochoa Rivero, Environmental Science and Engineering

Luis Alberto Pallares Solano, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Maria Aleida Ramirez Vega, Data Science

Cesar Yahir Sanchez Zambrano, Electrical and Computer Engineering