International Graduate Students in the U.S. and Canada

According to a news release, The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported yesterday that first-time international graduate student enrolment has increased by 3% from 2009 to 2010. Other findings from the report, Findings from the 2010 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase III: Final Offers of Admissions and Enrollment, were as follows:

- Total enrolment rose only 1%, the smallest increase in four years.

- Most of the institutions that participated in both 2009 and 2010 reported an increase in first-time enrolment, with an average increase of 14%.

- China and India send the most graduate students to the U.S., but while the former noted a first-time enrolment increase of 20%, the latter noted a 3% decline.

- Education is the only ‘broad field’ that reported a decline in first-time enrolment (down 7%).

- Overall, there was a 5% growth at institutions granting the largest number of degrees to international students, while there was no increase at schools outside the 100 largest.

- Doctoral institutions saw first-time enrolment rise by 4%, while masters-focused institutions dropped 7%.

The report is based on the final phase of a three-part annual survey of international graduate student applications, admissions, and enrolment among CGS U.S. member institutions, and can be found here.

In Canada, increased efforts to recruit international graduate students - particularly PhD candidates, has been hotly contested recently. The Ontario government has announced that it will fund 75 new international scholarships, each worth $40,000 annually for four years. Starting in 2011-2012, the Ontario Trillium Scholarships will be divided among the province’s universities funded two-thirds by the government and one-third by the various schools. Earlier this year, the Ontario government announced its goal of increasing foreign enrolment in postsecondary institutions, currently at 38,000, by 50% in five years, and also introduced measures to fast-track graduate students into permanent resident status. As this article states, “But these 75 new spots are more about luring elite minds who might otherwise land prestigious places elsewhere, such as the United States.” The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has reported increases in foreign enrolment for fifteen consecutive years.

According to critics, the new program is insulting to students in the province, who already pay the highest fees in the country, as well as to taxpayers, who will be putting out $20 million of the $30 million project. Follow the debate here.