El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (commonly known as El Colef, English: The College of the Northern Border) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in the social sciences with focus on border issues. It is also considered one of Mexico's think tanks.
El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (El Colef) is an institution of scientific research and graduate education which is part of the System of Public Centers for Research of the Conacyt (National Council for Science and Technology).
The research originating at El Colef is aimed at generating scientific knowledge about the social, economic, cultural, demographic, political, urban and environmental processes of the border area between Mexico and the United States.
El Colef’s research and teaching focuses on seven major themes:
El Colef has 107 research professors in six academic departments: Estudios de Administración Pública (Public Administration Studies), Estudios Culturales (Cultural Studies), Estudios Económicos (Economics), Estudios de Población (Population Studies),Estudios Sociales (Social Studies); and Estudios Urbanos y del Medio Ambiente (Urban and Environmental Studies).
The graduate programs offered are:
All the graduate programs are registered and recognized by CONACYT and SEP (Secretary of Public Education).
Placement of master's degree recipients
Placement of doctoral degree recipients
80 full-time professors are directly involved in the teaching of the graduate courses; 60 of the professors hold doctoral degrees and 50 of them belong to the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores.
El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, A.C.Km. 18.5 carretera escénica Tijuana-EnsenadaSan Antonio del MarTijuana, B. C.
Regional Headquarters: Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, Ciudad Juárez, and MexicaliOutreach Offices: Nogales and Piedras NegrasLiaison Office: Mexico City