More Indian Students Opting Graduation courses in the US

The recent report "Findings from the 2013 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey" from the Council of Graduate Schools have revealed that there was a 30% increase in offers of admissions to Indian students and a decrease in growth rates of first time enrollment and admissions offered to Chinese students.

The survey was based on a survey population of all 513 US colleges and universities, which were members of CGS as of September 2013. The final report was revealed by report's author Jeffrey Allum, the director of research and policy analyst at the Council of Graduate Schools.

According to report, it is the international students who constitute 15% of all graduate students in the United States. And the first time enrollment of students from China in US graduate schools increased by only 5%, ending of seven successive years of double-digit growth in first-time enrollments of Chinese students.

The author said, "China and India constitute a large percentage of students coming to the US. China in particular has been very reliable source of graduate students to US institutions."

Phillip Trella, the assistant vice president for graduate studies said, "the CGS results varied from those at the University. The University has seen a steady increase from 8% in 2012 to 10% in 2013 of Chinese Students. The bottom line for China is relative stability. We have become much more active in thinking globally at UVA, and moreover, the university is opening a new office in Shanghai."

As per the CGS report's field of study, the significant gain is seen in Physical and Earth Sciences by 18%, Engineering by 17% and the field of Business by 6%.

Phillip Trella also said, "The University saw the biggest increases in Business and to a lesser degree in Engineering. The Physical and Earth Sciences remained relatively stable. The Darden School of Business had a significant increase in international applications. However, Darden has doubled the amount of time they're spending in China, and they spend a lot of time cultivating relationships with alumni there," he said.

Allum(the author) said, "graduate students could use the CGS report to recognise important trends, such as the substantial growth in admittance of international students to graduate schools of engineering and sciences. They can use this information to identify fields which might have a significant draw."

Pamela Norris, the associate dean for research and graduate programs at the School of Engineering and Applied Science said she did not see any major trends in her reports on international applications.

"Our fluctuations vary so much from year to year from applicants for each of these countries. When you see an increase [in applicants] from one country, often that means faculty has established research collaboration in that country," she said.

Further, Allum said the major differences seen in the University's international trends could be accounted for, due to the University's size and establishment. "The larger institutions that tend to draw larger numbers of international students-their enrollments grew more slowly," he added.