U.S. grad schools see continued growth in international applicants
U.S. graduate schools continue to see an influx of applications from international students, according to a new report by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). The number of applications from international students grew by 9 percent for the fall of 2012 and continues a seven-year trend in growth in that area.
China, Mexico and Brazil lead the pack in countries from which the most international students applied to U.S. graduate school programs. Applications from Chinese students saw a seventh year of consecutive double-digit growth, increasing by 18 percent for the fall of 2012 after growing by 21 percent the previous year. The researchers noted, though, that applications from students in other Asian countries remained flat, with applicants from Taiwan decreasing by 2 percent, those from Korea decreasing by 1 percent, and those hailing from India increasing just 2 percent. Meanwhile, between 2011 and 2012, according to the report, U.S. grad school programs saw a 17 percent increase of applications from Mexico and a 14 percent increase from Brazilian students. Applications from Canadian students grew 9 percent between the two years.
“The overall growth in applications is encouraging but there are interesting variations between individual countries and regions,” said CGS President Debra W. Stewart. “We need to ensure that U.S. graduate education attracts students from around the globe by increasing outreach efforts and pursuing policies that would allow those graduates who want to remain in the U.S. and contribute to our economy to do so.”
When it comes to the programs international students are applying to, engineering continues to be the favorite, growing by 12 percent. Business programs followed closely, seeing an 11 percent increase, and the physical and Earth sciences rounded out the top three with a 10 percent jump in applications from international students.
The data comes from more than 500,000 applications to U.S. universities that collectively dole out 60 percent of graduate degrees earned by international students in America.
