Science Magazine
09-14-06
Foreign Enrollment Rebounds After 3-Year Slump
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Foreign-born students have rediscovered U.S. graduate schools. After a 3-year
decline, the number of foreign students starting graduate studies in the United
States rose 4% last year. And, continuing the upswing, the number of
international graduate applications to U.S. universities shot up 12% this year,
suggesting that the country may be regaining its positive image among foreign
students.
Observers credit the rebound, documented in a 643-institution survey released
this week by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), to speedier processing of
visa applications and increased international outreach. "The U.S. government
has clearly made efforts" to modify some of the restrictive visa policies that were
put in place after the 2001 terrorist attacks, says CGS President Debra Stewart.
"The visa situation is still not perfect, but it is much better than it was in 2004." A
majority of foreign-born graduate students pursue degrees in the sciences and
engineering.
Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames last year began paying the $100 fee
charged every foreign student to register in the U.S. government's Student and
Exchange Visitor Information System. "We're seeing some rewards," says
admissions officer Patricia Parker, citing an increase of 400 international
graduate applications this year. The U.S. State Department has helped too,
Parker says, by sending embassy officials to local universities to explain visa
application procedures.
Stewart says the rapidly expanding pool of college graduates in countries such
as India and China should be a boon to U.S. graduate programs. But she warns
her colleagues against complacency: "Given the increased global competition for
talent, the U.S. government must turn its visa policy from an impediment against
foreign students to an instrument of recruitment."