Educational Philosophy

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Principles

ITAM acknowledges three basic principles as standards for its activities:

• Autonomy: self-governance on its internal regulatory issues, namely academic, legal, administrative, and financial
• Academic freedom: with its correlative responsibility, essential to fulfilling its university functions
• Communality: by which all its members join in the common pursuit of their objectives and the institution's improvement

Educational Philosophy

ITAM perceives human beings as persons, thus free and social, engaged in the pursuit of human development and progress, and essentially devoted to the quest for truth and righteousness.

Hence, education, in general, tends to improve the lives of human beings through the enrichment of their best values, their growth as persons, the development of their awareness, and the improvement of their civic capabilities. Moreover, it acknowledges their civic duty. As a result, our students will become increasingly loyal to Mexico, to its values and traditions, which are understood as collective heritage.

Mission

ITAM seeks to contribute to the student’s well-rounded education and to develop a freer, more just, and prosperous society. In addition, it aims to become a community in its fullest sense, an institution of excellence and academic freedom, and a high quality autonomous research center.

Our institution's goal is to educate and prepare men and women who will be capable of acting in an informed, rational, responsible, critical way, and who are committed to creating, managing, and shaping public opinion, institutions, as well as further works. Moreover, it intends that they will be capable of cultivating and transmitting knowledge of the highest ethical, scientific, technological, and professional levels, allowing society to become aware of its problems while contributing to their understanding and solutions.

ITAM endeavors to reach these goals through instruction, research, and development, which are, in accordance with its mission and nature as an institution of higher learning, based on its standards of excellence. Through these functions, ITAM consolidates its institutional achievements, develops and makes the most of its comparative advantages.

Academic Division of General Studies and International Studies

The educational philosophy and institutional goals, namely “the student’s well-rounded education,” “the development of a freer and just society,” and “facilitating a greater progress and prosperity,” are deemed tasks shared by all of the Institute’s academic departments.

The Academic Division of General Studies and International Studies collaborates significantly to the achievement of the above mentioned goals by contributing to the growth of students as persons through all those manifestations that wholly express what is human and by utilizing a critical methodology permitting them to develop a common foundation of intellectual values and their own social historical awareness both nationally and internationally.  

This general goal is implemented in all the specific objectives and activities of ITAM’s departments, centers, and programs. 

Academically, the division consists of the General Studies Department, the International Studies Department, the Academic Department of Languages, the Bachelors in International Studies as well as Diploma programs in the several disciplines.

Academic Department of General Studies

The Academic Department of General Studies shares the same objectives and guidelines as that of the Academic Division of General Studies and International Studies: “a person’s well-rounded education”, “the development of a freer, more just, and prosperous society”, and “facilitating greater progress and prosperity.”  The latter are considered tasks shared by all of the Institute’s academic departments. The Department contributes to attaining this goal by seeking their students’ personal and social growth by utilizing a fundamental humanistic approach.

Thus, the General Studies Department is considered the most suitable academic entity to foster those qualities in their students as persons thereby allowing their personal growth and preparing them, by providing an historical context, to place themselves in a meaningful and responsible way in the world.

The Department’s academic content consists of two main components:

1. All expressions of man whose intellectual interpretation is unrestricted by field methodologies and views of a particular science.

2. A group of disciplines collectively referred to as “humanities”: history, literature, art, education, religion, and philosophy.

In the performance of its activities, the Department will emphasize one component over the other when needed (teaching, research, and extracurricular activities).

Articles related with the Department’s Educational Philosophy

Ethics and University
[Text]  Reflections on the Dialogue Method
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Social Responsibility and University
[Text]  University: Critical Thought
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A Plural Reflection
[Text]  Social implications of a humanistic education
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General Studies at ITAM
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