Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
Engineering students make up about 30% of those who travel from Brownsville to Edinburg, but a new plan is underway that will allow them to complete their degrees entirely on the Brownsville campus, a university official says.
Patrick Gonzales, senior vice president for University Marketing and Communications, said the Task Force of the Future has been collecting data on all students who are traveling from Brownsville to Edinburg.
“Students can get the first two years on [the] Brownsville campus, but three and four, they have to travel to Edinburg,” Gonzales said. “… That is because when you get to your junior, senior year, it’s more lab work and we just don’t have equipment and the labs in Brownsville at this time.”
He added the task force has specifically committed to civil and mechanical engineering degree plans accessible for the Brownsville campus.
“We are building modular to kind of replicate some of the labs [and equipment] that we have in Edinburg,” Gonzales said.
He said by the Fall 2026 semester, engineering students will be able to take third-year courses on the Brownsville campus, and by Fall 2027, they will be able to complete a four-year degree.
Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
The Rider interviewed Mayor John Cowen after the March 25 State of the City Address, where he announced the addition of four-year degrees in civil and mechanical engineering that can be completed on the Brownsville campus and a possible expansion.
Cowen said UTRGV plays a “very” important role in the growth and development of Brownsville.
“This task force has really reinforced our relationship and making sure we’re working much more collaboratively and proactively,” he said.
Cowen said UTRGV opened 3,000 seats on the Brownsville campus, which will reduce the “burden” from Brownsville students to Edinburg.
“Having more programs here, having more student life, making sure that the plans actually match what the industries are looking for, that all being addressed in this task force,” he said.
Gonzales said the possible expansion at the time is a verbal commitment to purchase 60 acres.
“All we know at this time is that commitment and possible plans; any purchase of this magnitude would still have to get approved by the Board of Regents, and obviously, that step hasn’t occurred,” he said.
Gonzales said this is a “great” time to be a student at UTRGV, especially for those on the Brownsville campus.
“Because you know, the hope for the university and one of the attractions of these companies coming here is that their workforce can be filled through graduates of UTRGV,” he said.
Gonzales added some of the plans the task force has prioritized are to help enhance students’ experience.
“I hope that [students] are already seeing some of the benefits of the task force, like the extra seats,” he said. “I hope next fall we’ll start noticing, you know, more classes for the third year [of engineering] students.”
