A report released yesterday by the Council of Graduate Schools shows that graduate school applications nationally from international students has increased significantly from 2005 to 2006.
This year's 11 percent increase follows a cumulative decline of 32 percent from 2003 to 2005, according to the report.
The report shows large gains in the volume of graduate applications from China, with a 23 percent, and India, with a 21 percent increase.
Stuart Heiser, manager of government relations and public affairs at the Council of Graduate Schools, describes the increases in these two countries as a natural recovery after a noticeable decline following Sept. 11.
"China and India have been the top sending countries for the U.S. in many years," Heiser said. "They were the countries that saw the biggest decline after 9-11. You would expect this number to increase after a few years."
The University's applicant pool has mirrored this national trend of a higher number of international graduate school applicants. According to information provided by the Office of Institutional Assessment and Studies, the University's non-resident alien applications for graduate studies have gone from 474 in 2004 to 529 applications received so far this year. Undergraduate admission has seen an even greater increase, with international applications increasing from 772 to 883 in the past two years.
"Ten years ago, we didn't have any applications from China. Five years ago, there were ten applicants. This year we have had more than 100 applicants," said Parke Muth, University senior assistant dean of admissions. "Chinese applications increased more than 20 percent last year."
Nationwide, international application increases have taken place in the areas of sciences and engineering, according to the report. Engineering saw a 17 percent rise between 2005 and 2006, while life sciences saw an increase of 16 percent in their international application pool.
Heiser emphasized the importance of international students in these areas. "International students are very important to science and engineering programs. In these programs, up to half [of the] students can be international," Heiser said. "Graduate school is where research happens, and research turns into innovation. International students are very important to this."
University President John T. Casteen III commented in an e-mail on patterns he has seen in the University's performance in this area, noting that the University's international graduate students are going into a more diverse mix of fields, such as linguistics, English and graduate business.
"The bottom line is that we are under-producing graduates in the sciences and engineering, that this trend has been notable for about a decade, but also that U.Va enrolls a smaller proportion of its student body in these fields than do comparable public universities," Casteen said.
The report attributes the increased international application levels to the federal government reducing delays in visa processing.
"Nowadays, it has been understood that if you have a strong student applying for a strong university you should be predisposed to get him a visa, whereas two or three years ago, visa officers would be predisposed to send him home," Muth said.
Heiser pointed out that competition for talented international students is another contributing factor to the increased application levels.
"Competition for international students is growing across the world. China and India are introducing competitive policies. Western countries, such as the English-speaking countries, Canada [and] the U.K., are now heavily recruiting students," Heiser said.
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