Foreign Applications To US Graduate Schools Slow

据美国研究生院委员会(Council of Graduate Schools)周二发布的一项调查结果，申请秋季就读美国研究院课程的中国和中东学生数量猛增，而来自印度和韩国的申请人数则出现下降。美国研究生院委员会代表美国和加拿大500余所高等教育院校。委员会称，外国学生申请就读2009年研究生课程的人数较上年增长4%，而2006－2008年三年的增幅分别为12%9%和6%。申请那些设有博士课程的大学的外国学生数量增加了5%，但申请最高只设硕士学位的大学的外国学生数量却锐减17%。Associated Press本图摄于3月份上海某教育展会，中国的学生正在和来自圣地牙哥州立大学的老师进行交流这样的结果凸显出全球经济的新现实：一方面，一些国家改善了自身教育系统，将学生留在国内，或是招揽了本来可能选择美国的外国学生。另一方面，全球经济衰退，加上美国显示出某些反对雇佣移民的迹象，这些意味着美国的学费令一部分人难以负担，还有一部分人则担心毕业后找不到工作。该委员会主席斯图尔特(Debra W. Stewart)说，在历史上，美国的研究院一直就是面向全球的。现在，我们不能简单地认为只要打开龙头，全世界最有才能的人就会自动流进来。她及其他高等教育界人士认为，现在还为时过早，只有知道入学注册人数后才能了解金融危机对高等教育究竟有什么影响。委员会对美国研究院的调查结果显示，中国和中东及土耳其的申请人数分别较2008年增加16%和20%。但印度和韩国的申请人数分别下降了9%和7%。美国各研究院总计收到逾40万份申请。斯图尔特说，全球经济确实影响了学生赴美国学习的能力。印度学生现在觉得很难贷到款。她认为信贷紧缩也是博士课程比硕士课程吸引更多学生申请的一个原因，博士课程通常会提供津贴和补助。如果这种趋势持续下去，将意味着美国校园中会发生微妙但却意义重大的变化，美国的高校一直依靠外国生源，尤其是科技类的院系。委员会称，外国申请人数减少主要影响了外国学生相对较少的院校。堪萨斯大学研究生办公室的助理院长奥古斯都(John Augusto)说，该校外国学生申请人数下降，但幸运的是降幅不如某些研究院那么大。他说，本校2.9万名学生中大约2,000人来自海外。南加州大学和纽约大学在国际学生数量最多的大学之列，这两所大学负责入学的管理人员说，他们的海外申请人数没有下降。国际教育工作者协会(Association of International Educators)发言人奥克斯(Ursula Oaks)说，英国澳大利亚和加拿大等一些国家都出台了政策，让学生毕业后找工作更容易，无需重新申请签证。与此同时，由于美国失业率居高不下，一些美国政府机构和最近颁布的法规都不鼓励招聘外籍员工。奥克斯说，国际学生担心毕业后在美国找工作的问题。S. Mitra Kalita相关阅读北京招聘会人满为患 大学生一职难求 2009-02-10美国就业困境将制约股市复苏 2009-04-03MBA毕业生难圆投行梦 2008-12-18美国毕业生等待父母救助？ 2008-10-13


The number of Chinese and Middle Eastern students applying for fall admission to U.S. graduate programs surged, while applications from India and South Korea fell, according to a survey to be released Tuesday by the Council of Graduate Schools.The council, which represents more than 500 higher-education institutions in the U.S. and Canada, said foreigners' applications for 2009 graduate-school admissions rose 4% from the year before. That compares with increases of 6% in 2008, 9% in 2007 and 12% in 2006. Foreigners' applications to universities that offer doctoral programs rose 5%, but foreigners' applications declined 17% at universities that offer master's as their highest degree.The mixed results point to a meeting of new realities in the global economy: On the one hand, some countries have improved their educational systems to keep students closer to home or woo those from other countries who might have otherwise chosen the U.S. On the other, the global recession -- and some signs of resistance to employing immigrants in the U.S. -- means U.S. tuitions are increasingly out of reach for some, while others fear jobs won't be waiting for them upon graduation.'Historically, U.S. graduate schools were the graduate schools for the world,' said council president Debra W. Stewart. 'Now, we cannot simply assume it's going to be a matter of turning on the spigot and the most talented people in the world will flow in.' She and others in higher education say it is too soon to know the true effects of the financial crisis on higher education until enrollment numbers are available.The council survey of U.S. institutions, which fielded more than 400,000 applications in all, showed growth of applications from China along with the Middle East and Turkey, up 16% and 20% from 2008, respectively. But applications from India and South Korea fell 9% and 7%, respectively.'The global economy is really impacting students' ability to come to the United States,' Ms. Stewart noted. 'Students in India are now finding it difficult to borrow money.' She cited tighter lending as another reason that doctoral programs, which typically offer stipends and assistance, would be luring more students than master's programs.If the trend persists, it will mean a subtle but significant change on U.S. campuses, which have come to rely on foreign students to fill their seats, particularly in such departments as science and technology.The council says declines in foreign applicants have come largely at schools with relatively few foreign students. The University of Kansas noted a drop in foreign students' applications, said assistant dean John Augusto, who works in the office of research and graduate studies, 'but fortunately not as big a drop as some institutions.' Mr. Augusto said that about 2,000 of the university's 29,000 students are from abroad. Admissions officials at the University of Southern California and New York University, which have among the largest international-student populations, say they have not seen a drop-off.Other countries, such as the U.K., Australia and Canada, have enacted policies that make it easier for students to go from the classroom to the workplace without reapplying for a visa, said Ursula Oaks, a spokeswoman for the Association of International Educators. Meanwhile, amid a high unemployment rate, some U.S. government agencies and recent legislation are discouraging recruitment of foreign workers.'There's concern that international students have about finding jobs in the U.S. economy after they graduate,' Ms. Oaks said.S. Mitra Kalita