Applications from prospective international students to US postgraduate programs increased for the 10th-consecutive year, led by double-digit growth in India, according to the Council of Graduate Schools' (CGS) 2015 International Graduate Admissions Survey: Preliminary Applications. Growth in international applications for the fall 2015 term was 2% higher than the year-ago period. However, the rate of increase has slowed by eight percentage points compared with last year.

International Applications Up 2% for Fall 2015

Contact:
Julia Kent
jkent@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Washington, DC—New data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) provides a first-ever breakdown of international graduate applications by degree objective. The report, 2015 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey: Preliminary Applications, collects data on international graduate applications by all geographic regions and fields of study, revealing trends important to the graduate research enterprise and our understanding of the global competition for top talent. Conducted annually since 2004, the survey was expanded this year to distinguish between applications to programs at the doctorate and master’s & certificate levels. 

The findings show that degree objectives of international applicants vary dramatically by country of origin and field of study, and in some cases contrast with those of their domestic U.S. counterparts.

No sending country favored master’s studies more than India, where 84% of graduate applications were for admission to master’s & certificate programs. The master’s share of graduate applications was also large among students from China (64%) Saudi Arabia (60%), and Taiwan (52%). Smaller shares of graduate applications went to master’s programs from prospective international graduate students from Mexico (50%), Canada (45%), Brazil (43%), Europe (35%), and South Korea (30%).

Overall, international students applied to doctoral programs in higher proportion than their domestic U.S. counterparts. Thirty-seven percent of international graduate enrollments were in PhD programs, compared to only 17 percent among U.S. citizens and permanent residents, according to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees.

According to CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega, the additional data on degree objectives is illuminating for U.S. graduate schools, even as it leads to more questions about the goals and motivations of international graduate students. “Now that our international survey offers data by degree objective, we will have a more nuanced picture of the encouraging growth we have seen in international applications to U.S. graduate programs,” Ortega said. “Our challenge is to investigate what these new data can tell us about the market for advanced skills. Are students preparing for careers in the U.S. or at home after earning their degree? Are they drawn here by academic reputations, employment prospects, or professional advancement? How do economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad influence international graduate enrollments?”

Trends by country of origin

International graduate applications for Fall 2015 increased 2% from Fall 2014, for a total 676,484 applications received by the U.S. institutions responding to the survey. For the third consecutive year, applications from China were down (-2%) while applications from India posted double-digit growth (12%). China remains the largest source of prospective students for U.S. programs, representing 39% of all international graduate applications. India continues to narrow the gap between first- and second-largest source country, reaching 28% of international applications for Fall 2015. South Korea, the third-largest sending country, increased 4% after three straight years of declines.

Trends by field of study

Growth in applications was driven by engineering and physical & earth sciences, which gained 4% and 14%, respectively. Together these STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields account for 50% of all applications to U.S. graduate programs from prospective international students for Fall 2015. This makes international graduate students crucial to U.S. research and workforce needs. Experts (including CGS) have pointed out the American economy’s demand for advanced STEM skills is unlikely to be met by homegrown talent alone, as only 16% of U.S. citizens and permanent residents enrolled in graduate programs are studying in STEM fields, according to the CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees.  

In another finding of the Preliminary Applications report, international applications to graduate programs in business fell 2%, the first decline in this field since the survey launched in 2004. Nevertheless, business was the third largest field of study, accounting for 13% of international graduate applications.

About the report

Findings from the 2015 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey: Preliminary Applications are based on an annual survey of international graduate student applications among U.S. institutions. Some responding institutions may continue to receive international applications after the completion of the report. For this reason the figures are preliminary. Final application, admission and enrollment figures will be reported in late 2015. Final application numbers have traditionally tracked very closely to the preliminary numbers. Analysis from the 2015 Preliminary Applications report includes responses from 377 schools, including 80% of the top 100 institutions awarding the largest number of degrees to international graduate students. Collectively, the respondents to this year’s survey award about 70% of the degrees granted to international graduate students in the U.S. The full report is available at http://cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Intl_I_2015_report_final.pdf.

Contact:
Nate Thompson, CGS: (202) 223-3791 / nthompson@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today announced it will partner with ProQuest to explore the future of doctoral dissertations in a new Best Practice project, which will culminate in a workshop to be held in Washington, D.C. in January of 2016. The two-day workshop will convene graduate deans, publishers, library and information professionals, and other stakeholders to discuss how emerging technologies and other innovations in doctoral training may shape the Ph.D. dissertation of the future.

CGS plans to invite scholars and experts from different stakeholder groups to write short pieces on their view of the current state and future prospects of doctoral dissertations, and to collect these papers into an edited volume that will be distributed to CGS membership. “Ultimately, the goal will be to determine the questions that will require more sustained consideration by the graduate community,” explained CGS President, Suzanne Ortega. “What information do deans need to navigate the shifting landscape of doctoral dissertations? What kinds of questions should we be asking of our structures and policies, our staff and faculty partners, and our students?”

The changing nature of academic publishing and scholarly dissemination, new technologies, and new paradigms for graduate education have caused some to question whether the traditional doctoral dissertation should remain a strict requirement for the completion of the PhD. Might dissertations take different forms (such as through a series of blog posts or as collaborative work)? How might the dissertation be structured to reduce time to degree? What is needed to ensure nontraditional dissertations are archived sustainably? What, if any, differences exist among the broad disciplinary fields of humanities and social sciences and STEM dissertations? What roles do open access dissertations and embargoes play? These questions, among others, will continue to structure the conversation in the graduate community about doctoral dissertations.

ProQuest, renowned as a gateway for discovery and access to dissertations and theses from the world’s leading universities, will support this project. “This collaboration with CGS is both exciting and important,” said Niels Dam, ProQuest Vice President, Product Management. “As holder of the world's largest collection of dissertation and theses, and partner to over 3000 global institutions we are pleased to be sharing data, metrics, and on-the-ground insight that will inform the discussion about the next generation of doctoral dissertations and help the dissertations community prepare for the future.”

CGS plans to share results of the project in the spring of 2016.

Francis M. Leslie, graduate dean at CGS-member University of California at Irvine, shares perspective on the disparities in graduate degree attainment in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and why successful completion of underrepresented minority students in PhD programs must be a high priority for graduate institutions. 

Even as the number of U.S. workers who use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as part of their jobs has been steadily increasing, much more needs to be done in order to keep up with employer demands and to gain better participation of under-represented groups in STEM-related jobs. CGS's Julia Kent joined a panel of experts at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to discuss the financial barriers to attaining graduate degrees and the need for better career outcomes data on STEM graduates.

CGS's Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion (DIMAC) project is highlighted in Science Careers, which noted that the findings are "crammed with interesting and revealing facts about how black/African American students and Hispanic/Latino students fare in doctoral programs in engineering, life sciences (including health sciences), physical and mathematical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences."

In a feature story profiling CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega as part of its annual 'Graduate School' issue, Hispanic Outlook magazine discusses current challenges facing graduate students and institutions. Diminishing federal research grants and the loss of loan subsidies for graduate students are undercutting the nation's workforce development efforts and our future capacity for innovation, Ortega explains.

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (JBHE) examines the latest research report released by the Council of Graduate Schools: the Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion (DIMAC). Among the findings called out by JBHE was the slight improvement (to 50 percent) in the completion rates of black/African American STEM PhD students over the period studied.

Completion rates among underrepresented minority (URM) students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) doctoral programs rose by five percent from 1996 to 2005, according to the Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion (DIMAC) project, the most comprehensive study to date on times to degree, attrition, and completion rates of URM STEM doctoral students. Study authors and participating graduate deans share new strategies for improving retention and completion.

Considering applying for graduate school? Experts advise researching the costs, learning about financial aid and student loan options, and expected salaries in your field in order to make informed decisions. Prospective students can find many helpful resources at GradSense.org, a website developed by the Council of Graduate Schools in collaboration with financial services firm, TIAA-CREF, to enhance student financial knowledge and skills.