U.S. Graduate School Applications From International Students On The Rise

April 12, 2011

International student applications for U.S. graduate schools are up nine percent this year, reported Inside Higher Ed, suggesting that foreign students' interest in graduate study in America is rebounding nicely from previous years.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, much of the increase is due to applications from Chinese students, up 18 percent this year. Applications from India and South Korea also saw an increase this year, up seven percent and two percent, respectively. These three countries send the most foreign students to the U.S. Applications from the Middle East and Turkey also saw an increase of 12 percent from 2010.

Inside Higher Ed noted that applications in all fields of study increased; however, engineering, physical and earth sciences and "other" fields--areas of study that don't include the aforementioned fields as well as arts and humanities, business, education and social science and psychology--saw the biggest increases. The Chronicle of Higher Education pointed out that these fields saw an increase of 12 percent.

There was one decline in foreign student applications, however. Applications to business schools at the 25 universities that enroll the most international students were down four percent. Although too early to tell, this decline may reflect increased global competition for business students.

The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that application growth occurred differently across institutions. For instance, at the 10 graduate schools with the highest number of international graduates, applications went up 12 percent. At institutions outside the 100 largest, however, applications only increased nine percent. Additionally, applications from Chinese students went up 26 percent at the 10 largest schools but rose just 12 percent at institutions outside the top 100.

These trends were reported as the first part of a three-part survey by the Council of Graduate Schools. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the survey was administered early on, so these results are subject to slight change once the second part of the survey analyzes final application numbers later this spring.

Compiled by CityTownInfo.com Staff