Competition for international graduate students is heating up, according to the latest study by the Council of Graduate Schools.

CGS President Debra Stewart tells Graduateguide.com that the U.S. must continue its efforts to attract international students as global competition for talent increases.

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

Washington, D.C. -- The Council of Graduate Schools has released a new report highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to graduate education in research integrity. The report, Research and Scholarly Integrity in Graduate Education, provides recommendations for U.S. universities based on best practice research as well as data collected through a multi-year CGS initiative, The Project for Scholarly Integrity (PSI), supported by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.

Through the project, CGS worked collaboratively with six institutions that received funding for pilot projects: Columbia University, Emory University, Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Arizona. In each, the graduate school led the development of model programs by coordinating campus activities, assessing current policies and practices, and engaging the community in enhancing programs and resources for graduate students. An additional 13 institutions participated in the project as affiliates.

Data and Findings

A unique feature of The Project for Scholarly Integrity was the common assessment of two aspects of graduate students’ educational and research environments. Graduate schools surveyed programs to learn how students accessed instruction in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) prior to participation in the project, and used this information to inform project activities. Through a version of a national organizational climate survey, they also surveyed students and faculty about their perceptions concerning fairness, the adequacy of policies and resources, and their degree of confidence in handling situations involving ethical misconduct or misbehavior. Data from these surveys are accessible through a companion online, interactive tool: the PSI Data Dashboard.

One of the key findings of the project is that graduate students currently depend to a large degree on the instruction they receive—or do not receive—from their research supervisors or mentors. On average, between 74% and 80% of faculty respondents from graduate programs reported that students received information about a full range of RCR topics from their advisors or mentors. However, students were much less likely to have access to information about RCR through courses or classroom instruction, workshops, print materials, or web-based instruction (see Dashboard and p. 70 of report).

Although the best RCR programs draw on experts and a variety of activities to inform students about a full range of RCR issues, survey responses suggest that many students did not participate in activities that might supplement the information they receive from their advisors.

These data suggest the need for a heightened focus on the quality of education in the mentoring and advising relationship, and for broader adoption of a comprehensive approach to graduate education in research integrity that gives students multiple avenues and opportunities for exposure to RCR.

Best Practice Models

The survey data informed each institution’s strategies for developing more comprehensive programs to educate graduate students in research and scholarly integrity. Practices that proved effective across all projects are highlighted, for example, in the areas of leadership and communication strategy, cultivating faculty participation, and assessing student needs. The report also notes where the effectiveness of strategies may have differed depending on the size and type of institution.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart commented, “Since 2003, CGS has worked with U.S. graduate schools to provide high quality research integrity education during the formative stages of graduate students’ professional development. I believe the strategies and practices described in this publication will help graduate deans and others looking for practical models for initiating new or improving existing RCR programs.”

The PSI Data Dashboard allows institutions to compare their own survey data with the aggregated data of institutions that participated in the project. President Stewart added, “This report and the companion online tool should catalyze enriched campus discussions around the needs and professional development of graduate students, as well as those of faculty and staff, which are especially needed in the area of mentoring and advising.”

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

Washington, D.C.  ̶  The Council of Graduate Schools is reporting that offers of admission from U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased 9% from 2011 to 2012, following an increase of 9% last year. The new data marks the 3rd consecutive year of growth in international graduate admissions.

The survey report on admissions trends, released today, shows that this growth was driven substantially by a 20% increase in offers of admission to prospective students from China, the seventh year in a row of double-digit increases. Offers of admission to students from the Middle East rose 17%, marking the fifth year of significant growth, and offers of admission to Brazilian students rose 13%. However offers of admission to students from India and South Korea, the second and third largest sending countries of international students to U.S. graduate programs respectively, stayed flat.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart remarked that the overall pattern of growth in applications and admission shows that overseas students continue to recognize the quality of the U.S. graduate education system. “U.S. graduate programs and institutions still enjoy a world-class reputation.” At the same time, Stewart cautioned that growth beyond 2012 remains uncertain. “Given the current global economy and increasing global competition for talent, we must continue our efforts to attract students from countries where numbers of student applicants are slowing, as well as those such as Brazil and China, where there is renewed momentum to pursue graduate study in the U.S.”

Admissions trends by field

The survey results show that offers of admission increased in all broad fields of study except the life sciences, where numbers of admissions remained flat. Business and Education saw the largest increases in admissions offers, increasing 17% in both fields. Strong gains were also seen in social sciences and psychology (14%), ‘other’ fields (9%), and engineering (7%), followed by more modest growth in the arts & humanities (6%) and physical and earth sciences (5%). This is the second year of double-digit growth for international admissions to Business programs, following a 11% gain in 2011.

Admissions trends by Institution Size

Large institutions (in terms of the number of graduate degrees awarded to international students) continue to drive more of the growth in international offers of admission than those awarding smaller numbers of degrees to international students. Respondents from the larger institutions showed somewhat larger increases on average: 16% at the 10 largest and 10% at the 100 largest, as compared with a 6% increase at the institutions outside the largest 100.

Admissions trends by region

As was the case last year, offers of admission by U.S. graduate schools to prospective international students increased in all four major regions of the United States. The Northwest saw the most growth (11%), followed by the Midwest, the South, and the West, all with an 8% gain.

Comparison of applications and admissions trends

In addition to admissions trends, the report also tracks applications. This year the increases in applications matched the increases in offers of admission, both at 9%. The survey found a final 9% increase in international graduate applications for fall 2012, with large increases in applications from China (19%), the Middle East (11%), and Mexico (10%).

About the report

Findings from the 2012 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. The survey had a response rate of 44%, including 76 of the 100 institutions that award the largest number of graduate degrees to international students. The report is posted at www.cgsnet.org.

Citing the CGS International 2 Survey, Inside Higher Ed noted several interesting variations in the geographic regions and fields of study represented by students offered admissions to U.S. graduate schools.

The latest CGS data show that U.S. admissions offers to international grad students continued to rise from 2011 to 2012. The Chronicle analyzed the phase 2 report of the 2012 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, describing how strong gains from China and the Middle East led to an overall increase of 9 percent. 

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