The Professionals in International Education (PIE) News talks with CGS's Suzanne T. Ortega and Jeff Allum about trends in international graduate enrollment, including the 9 percent growth in offers of admission for 2014. As in the prior year, rates of growth from China have stagnated, while offers of admission to students from India and Brazil showed increased impressively.

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

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today reported that initial offers of admission from U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased 9% from 2013 to 2014. The new data marks the fourth consecutive year of 9% growth in offers of admission to prospective international graduate students.

The shift in sending countries first reported by the 2013 series of CGS International Graduate Admissions surveys appears to continue. Prospective students from China are submitting fewer applications, and this year the offers of admission to Chinese applicants was stagnant, ending an eight-year run of growth. Applications from and offers of admission to prospective graduate students in India and Brazil are surging, and offers of admission to prospective graduate students from the Middle East continues to be strong.  

Suzanne Ortega, President of the Council of Graduate Schools, commented that “American graduate schools continue to attract students from around the world. We should be excited about the fact that new growth is emerging from a host of different regions and nations. International students are important to the U.S. economy because our workforce will continue to face shortages of graduate-level talent over the next decade. To support our economic competitiveness, we should make it easier—for international graduates who wish to do so—to remain and work in the U.S. after completing their degrees.”

Admissions trends by country

The increase in the overall number of offers of admission to U.S. graduate schools was driven by a 25% increase in initial offers of admission to prospective students from India, following a 27% gain in 2013. Considering that India’s year-to-year numbers have often fluctuated, this continued growth stands out as an important trend affecting U.S. graduate schools.

Furthermore, gains from India helped to offset the sluggish admission numbers from China. For the first time since 2006, offers of admission to prospective students from China failed to increase, as the 2014 figure was unchanged from the prior year. China continues to represent the largest source of prospective international graduate students, comprising 37% of all offers of admission in 2014.

Building on impressive growth of 46% in 2013, the offers of admission to prospective students from Brazil nearly doubled in 2014, with a gain of 98%. Although prospective students from Brazil constitute only 1% of the total offers of admission to prospective international students, the sustained growth is notable.   

Other regions and countries with growth in offers of admission from 2013 to 2014 included the Middle East (9%), Canada (4%), Africa (3%), and Europe (2%). Declines were reported for South Korea (-9%), Taiwan (-6%), and Mexico (-1%).

Admissions trends by field

The survey results show that initial offers of admission increased in all broad fields of study in 2014. The largest increases were in physical & earth sciences (13%) and engineering (11%), followed by ‘other fields’ (7%), business (6%), social sciences & psychology (6%), life sciences (6%), arts & humanities (5%), and education (1%).

Admissions trends by region

Offers of admission by U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased in all four major regions of the United States from 2013 to 2014. The Midwest saw the most growth (12%), followed by the West, the South, and the Northeast, with 9%, 9%, and 8% increases respectively.

About the report

Findings from the 2014 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase II: Final Applications and Initial Offers of Admission is based on the second phase of a three-part annual survey of international graduate student applications, admissions, and enrollment among U.S. member institutions. Data on offers of admission in the report are preliminary; final data will be published in the Phase III report, to be released in November 2014. The Phase II results are typically an early indicator of what international first-time enrollment is likely to be in fall 2014. The 299 institutions responding to the Phase II survey conferred about 66% of the 109,000 graduate degrees awarded to international students in the United States in 2011-12, suggesting that the survey results accurately depict recent trends in the participation of international students in U.S. graduate education. The full report is available online at http://www.cgsnet.org/benchmarking/international-graduate-admissions-survey.

A short announcement about CGS's upcoming pilot study of the professional development needs of STEM graduate students, with support from a grant by the National Science Foundation.

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

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today announced it has received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the professional development needs of graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The award was made through the NSF Directorate of Education and Human Resources (program announcement NSF 13-555).   

Enhanced professional development of STEM graduate students has emerged in recent years as a high priority as evidenced by calls from students, employers, funding agencies, and graduate deans. The CGS pilot study will gather perspectives from stakeholders representing each of these groups to answer four key questions:

1. Beyond research skills, what other professional skills are particularly important for STEM graduates?
2. What STEM workforce skills needs are not currently being met by graduate programs?
3. How can resources and investments be most effectively mobilized to meet that demand through enhanced professional development?, and
4. What structures and learning environments are most effective in responding to the career tracks for PhD and master’s students?

The project will include a survey distributed to 500 CGS member institutions, interviews with industry leaders, a workshop convening a wide array of stakeholders, a publication of project results that includes a framework for future action, and an online searchable database of existing professional development programs for STEM graduate students.

CGS President Suzanne Ortega stated that "master's and PhD students play a vital role across all sectors of the nation's STEM workforce. This project is an important first step in helping universities answer the call for a more strategic approach to their professional development beyond the bench or lab. Ultimately, this project will help position universities to shape quality programs that provide our students with the essential skills they need to succeed in industry, government, and business, as well as academe.”

“This project will help improve our understanding of the professional skills most needed of today's graduate students,” said NSF Assistant Director Joan Ferrini-Mundy, who leads the Education and Human Resources directorate. “Through its large and diverse membership, CGS can leverage project findings to result in model programs and meaningful improvements to graduate education that, in turn, will benefit the national STEM workforce.”

The project will begin in summer 2014 and conclude in late 2015.   

CGS President Debra W. Stewart responds to an editorial in the Washington Post to call attention to the variations in borrowing by graduate students at the master's, doctoral, and professional degree levels.

CGS Director of Research and Policy Analysis, Jeff Allum, shares with The Guardian encouraging statistics from recent Graduate Enrollment and Degrees reports that show gains in total enrollment for women and minority students in graduate fields traditionally dominated by white males, such as computer and information sciences. 

Institutions participating in the CGS Best Practice initiative, Enhancing Student Financial Education, are among those highlighted in a story about the increasing trend of colleges offering financial literacy courses to help their students prepare for money management success.

CGS's Jeff Allum speaks with the China Daily about the findings of the 2014 International Graduate Admissions Survey and the popularity of graduate business programs among Chinese students enrolling at US institutions.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart discusses the important questions prospective students should ask before applying for a graduate program.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart discusses graduate student debt and the contributing factors behind the trend.