NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY » N F A P P O L I C Y B R I E F A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EXECUTIVE SUMMARY International students are a significant source of talent for U.S. employers and allow U.S. universities to offer highquality academic programs in science and engineering for American students. Without international students the number of students in America pursuing graduate degrees (master’s and Ph.D.’s) in fields such as computer and information sciences and electrical engineering would be small relative to the size of the U.S. economy. In 2019, at U.S. universities, there were only 9,083 full-time U.S. graduate students in electrical engineering, compared to 26,343 full-time international students. Similarly, in computer and information sciences, in 2019, there were only 17,334 full-time U.S. graduate students compared to 44,786 international graduate students at U.S. universities.1 This report updates an October 2017 study. Among the key findings of the research: - The number of full-time international students enrolled in graduate-level electrical engineering at U.S. universities dropped 19.5% between 2015 and 2019. The number of full-time international students enrolled in graduate-level computer and information sciences at U.S. universities declined 9.5% between 2016 and 2019. This decline in international graduate students was before the new restrictions imposed on Chinese students and the impact of Covid-19. A continuation of this trend would present serious issues for U.S. employers and universities. - At U.S. universities, foreign nationals account for 82% of the full-time graduate students in petroleum engineering, 74% in electrical engineering, 72% in computer and information sciences, 71% in industrial and manufacturing engineering, 70% in statistics, 67% in economics, 61% in civil engineering, 58% in mechanical engineering and agricultural economics, 56% in mathematics, 54% in chemical engineering, 53% in metallurgical and materials engineering, 52% in materials sciences and 50% in pharmaceutical sciences. - At many U.S. universities, the data show it would be difficult to maintain important graduate programs without international students. In electrical engineering, the majority of full-time graduate students (master’s and Ph.D.’s) are international students at 88% of the U.S. graduate school programs with at least 30 students, or 149 U.S. universities total. In computer and information sciences, the majority of full-time graduate students are international students at 211 universities, representing 78% of the U.S. graduate school programs with at least 30 students. 1 Note the designation computer and information sciences includes what in the past was referred to only as computer sciences or computer sciences. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 2 - Over the past two decades, foreign-born scientists and engineers have played a critical role in filling the demand for high-level technical talent in the United States. Between 1998 and 2019, the annual number of full-time international graduate students in computer and information sciences increased by 310%, from 10,930 in 1998 to 44,786 in 2019. In comparison, over the same period, the annual number of full-time U.S. graduate students in computer and information sciences increased by 91%, from 9,042 in 1998 to 17,334 in 2019. - A May 2020 Trump administration presidential proclamation (PP10043), continued by the Biden administration, contains overly broad criteria and is blocking visas for Chinese graduate students based on the universities they attended in China, not based on the individual risk of the students. After the resumption of consular activities in China, U.S. universities reported denials of J-1 visas for Chinese scholars and new and F-1 visas for graduate students in science and engineering. The implications of the denials have alarmed analysts and universities, given the significant role Chinese graduate students and scholars play in key technical fields in the United States. - The policy is likely to block at least 3,000 to 5,000 Chinese graduate students a year. The policy is costly to the United States. Every 1,000 Ph.D. students blocked in a year from U.S. universities costs an estimated $210 billion in the expected value of patents produced at universities over 10 years and nearly $1 billion in lost tuition over a decade, according to an analysis from the National Foundation for American Policy. Other economic costs include the loss of highly productive scientists and engineers prevented from working in the U.S. economy or patents and innovations produced outside university settings. - The annual number of full-time U.S. graduate students in electrical engineering increased by only 12% over the past 21 years, from 8,139 in 1998 to 9,083 in 2019. Over the same period, the annual number of fulltime international graduate students in electrical engineering increased by 130%, from 11,469 in 1998 to 26,343 in 2019. - The increase in both the size and number of graduate programs in science and engineering at U.S. universities indicates U.S. student enrollment has not been held down by the lack of available slots at U.S. graduate schools. Research by economist Kevin Shih found, “At the graduate level, international students do not crowd-out, but actually increase domestic enrollment.”2 2 Kevin Shih, Do International Students Crowd Out or Cross-Subsidize Americans in Higher Education? September 25, 2017. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 3 - In electrical engineering, international students account for 83% of the full-time graduate students at Auburn University, 81% at Duke University, 61% at the University of Kentucky, 88% at Texas A&M, 88% at SMU and 73% at the University of Texas at Austin. - In computer and information sciences, international students account for 80% of the full-time graduate students at Rice University, 63% at Texas Tech, 67% at UCLA, 76% at North Carolina State, 70% at LSU, 77% at George Mason University, 61% at Vanderbilt, 56% at West Virginia University and 72% at Virginia Tech. - A high level of international students allows U.S. universities to attract and retain faculty. “If we were not to place such a heavy emphasis on research, we wouldn't be able to get faculty that teach the wide range of things we do, with the appropriate expertise, so our educational mission would suffer,” said Professor Christopher Raphael, who heads the Music Informatics program in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. - “To get tenure and perform research, professors require a significant number of graduate students and there are not enough domestic students alone in certain fields,” said Stuart Cooper, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University. - Postdocs assist in critical research at U.S. universities after completing their doctorate. Fifty-six percent of postdocs at U.S. universities are foreign nationals who work on temporary visas, including 73% in electrical engineering (954 postdocs in 2019), 72% in metallurgical and materials engineering, 69% in mechanical engineering, 68% in chemical engineering, 66% in oncology and cancer research (1,202 postdocs), 66% in physics (1,785 postdocs), 64% in computer and information sciences, 63% in chemistry, 53% in neurobiology and neuroscience (1,179 postdocs) and 49% (1,951 postdocs) in clinical medicine. Maintaining a welcoming policy on international students is essential to preserving America’s role as a center of technological innovation. Such a policy means reasonable visa policies for international students and making it easier for students to work after graduation, including preserving STEM OPT (Optional Practical Training) and improved policies on H-1B visas, per-country limits and employment-based green cards. Today, the global competition for international students and talented scientists and engineers is intense. Recent U.S. efforts to block many Chinese graduate students from U.S. universities might deal a significant blow to future innovation and scientific research in America. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 4 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: A KEY SOURCE OF TALENT AND INNOVATION At U.S. universities, international students account for 82% of the full-time graduate students in petroleum engineering, 74% in electrical engineering and 72% in computer and information sciences, 71% in industrial and manufacturing engineering, 70% in statistics, 67% in economics, 61% in civil engineering, 58% in mechanical engineering and agricultural economics, 56% in mathematics and applied mathematics, 54% in chemical engineering, 53% in metallurgical and materials engineering, 52% in materials sciences and pharmaceutical sciences.3 (Data for 2019.) The field computer and information sciences includes what a few years earlier encompassed computer sciences. Table 1 Full-time Graduate Students and the Percent of International Students by Field (2019) Field Petroleum Engineering Electrical Engineering Computer and Information Sciences Industrial and Manufact. Engineering Statistics Economics Civil Engineering Mechanical Engineering Agricultural Economics Mathematics and Applied Math Chemical Engineering Metallurgical/Materials Engineering Materials Sciences Pharmaceutical Sciences Percent of International Students 82% 74% 72% 71% 70% 67% 61% 58% 58% 56% 54% 53% 52% 50% Number of Full-time Graduate Students – International Students 803 26,343 44,786 6,554 5,497 8,023 8,775 11,215 766 9,902 4,590 2,981 713 1,790 Number of Full-time Graduate Students – U.S. Students 181 9,083 17,334 2,632 2,406 4,049 5,527 8,130 564 7,876 3,975 2,671 660 1,827 Source: National Science Foundation Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, Public Use Microdata files, National Foundation for American Policy. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. 3 National Science Foundation Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, Public Use Microdata files, National Foundation for American Policy. Data for 2019. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 5 INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN STEM FIELDS Over the past two decades, have helped fill the demand for high-level technical talent in the United States. Between 1998 and 2019, the annual number of full-time international graduate students in computer and information sciences increased by 310%, from 10,930 in 1998 to 44,786 in 2019. In comparison, over the same period, the annual number of full-time U.S. graduate students in computer and information sciences increased by 91%, from 9,042 in 1998 to 17,334 in 2019. Table 2 Computer and Information Sciences: Full-time Graduate Students: 1998 to 2019 Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 U.S. Students 9,042 9,939 9,630 10,164 11,919 12,744 12,719 12,226 11,959 11,814 11,684 12,113 12,072 11,579 11,534 11,481 12,232 12,539 13,854 13,224 15,904 17,334 International Students 10,930 12,748 16,928 19,923 20,660 17,964 16,443 16,091 16,801 18,268 19,654 20,085 20,710 21,282 22,574 27,787 39,837 45,790 49,507 42,982 41,885 44,786 Percent International Students 54.7% 56.2% 63.7% 66.2% 63.4% 58.5% 56.4% 56.8% 58.4% 60.7% 62.7% 62.4% 63.2% 64.8% 66.2% 70.8% 76.5% 78.5% 78.1% 76.5% 72.5% 72.1% Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, National Foundation for American Policy calculations. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 6 Figure 1 Computer and Information Sciences: Full-Time U.S. and International Graduate Students, 1998-2019 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 1998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019 US Student International Student Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, National Foundation for American Policy calculations. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. Figure 2 Electrical Engineering: Full-Time U.S. and International Graduate Students, 1998-2019 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 US Student International Student Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, National Foundation for American Policy calculations. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 7 The annual number of full-time U.S. graduate students in electrical engineering increased by only 12% over the past 21 years, from 8,139 in 1998 to 9,083 in 2019. Over the same period, the annual number of full-time international graduate students in electrical engineering increased by 130%, from 11,469 in 1998 to 26,343 in 2019. Table 3 Electrical Engineering: Full-time Graduate Students: 1998 to 2019 Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 U.S. Students 8,139 7,595 7,253 7,750 8,654 9,601 8,792 8,790 8,696 8,448 8,486 8,362 8,904 8,802 8,278 8,130 7,925 7,783 7,758 8,108 8,338 9,083 International Students 11,469 12,926 15,709 17,490 19,586 19,328 17,940 17,059 18,683 20,628 20,726 20,920 21,073 21,933 23,248 26,530 31,943 32,736 30,400 28,096 26,476 26,343 Percent International Students 58.5% 63.0% 68.4% 69.3% 69.4% 66.8% 67.1% 66.0% 68.2% 70.9% 71.0% 71.4% 70.3% 71.4% 73.7% 76.5% 80.1% 80.8% 79.7% 77.6% 76.0% 74.4% Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, National Foundation for American Policy calculations. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. This includes full-time graduate students in electrical, electronic and communications engineering. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Page 8 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS KEEP TECH STUDIES AVAILABLE FOR U.S. STUDENTS AND HELP RETAIN TOP FACULTY At many U.S. universities, it would be difficult to maintain important graduate programs without international students. In electrical engineering, the majority of full-time graduate students (master’s and Ph.D.’s) are international students at 88% of the U.S. graduate school programs with at least 30 students, or 149 U.S. universities total. In computer and information sciences, the majority of full-time graduate students are international students at 211 universities, representing 78% of the U.S. graduate school programs with at least 30 students.4 The story is similar in other fields. In mechanical engineering, the majority of full-time graduate students are international students at 101 universities, representing 67% of the U.S. graduate school programs with at least 30 students.5 The story is similar in other fields. Table 4 U.S. University Graduate Programs with a Majority of International Students (2019) Field Electrical (and Electronics and Commercial) Engineering Industrial/Manufact. Engineering Economics Statistics Computer and Information Sciences Civil Engineering Mechanical Engineering Metallurgical and Materials Eng. Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemical Engineering Mathematics/Applied Math. Number of U.S. Universities with More Than 50 Percent International Students in Graduate School Program (2019) 149 Percentage of U.S. Universities with a Majority of International Students in Graduate School Program (2019) 88% 65 86% 86 80% 60 79% 211 78% 93 76% 101 67% 36 63% 29 63% 55 61% 83 54% Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, National Foundation for American Policy calculations. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. Note: analysis limited to programs with at least 30 fulltime students. The high level of international students plays a role in universities being able to attract and retain faculty, which benefits U.S. students. “If we were not to place such a heavy emphasis on research, we wouldn't be able to get 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY Page 9 International Students in Science and Engineering faculty that teach the wide range of things we do, with the appropriate expertise, so our educational mission would suffer,” said Professor Christopher Raphael, chair of the computer science department at Indiana University. “Really the most important part of the educational experience is to work closely with high quality faculty, as one does directly at the Ph.D. stage. So the research and the education are of a piece.” 6 “We are a research university, and in computer science that means that much of the research is done by teams led by professors with experiments carried out by graduate students,” explains Professor Christopher Raphael, who heads the Music Informatics program in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. “This model only works if we can get high-quality Ph.D. students and we would be hard pressed to get the number we need solely from the United States.”7 A look at well-known universities in different parts of the country illustrates how critical international students are to maintaining graduate-level programs in computer science, electrical engineering and other fields. At Indiana University, approximately 329 of the 450 full-time graduate students in computer and information sciences, or 73%, are international students. One can see a similar pattern at other schools in the Midwest. The proportion of international students in computer and information sciences graduate programs is 73% at Purdue, 61% at Michigan State and 73% at Iowa State. At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, 78%, or 1,444 of the approximately 1,850 full-time graduate students in computer and information sciences are international students, while 79% of the fulltime graduate students at Carnegie Mellon in electrical engineering are international students.8 Stuart Cooper, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University, also points to the connection between research and teaching at U.S. colleges. “There is a synergy. To get tenure and perform research, professors require a significant number of graduate students and there are not enough domestic students alone in certain fields,” said Professor Cooper. “The advances made by professors and graduate students, including international students and post-docs, provide new knowledge and benefits society.”9 Without the ability to perform high-level research at U.S. universities, many talented individuals would not take or seek faculty positions, leaving U.S. schools far weaker and unable to educate U.S. students in important fields. Graduate students also directly support the educational mission for undergraduates by serving as teaching 6 Interview, via email with, Christopher Raphael. See Stuart Anderson, The Importance of International Students to America, NFAP Policy Brief, National Foundation for American Policy, July 2013. 7 Ibid. 8 National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, NFAP calculations. Data for other universities in this report are derived from the same source. 9 Interview with Stuart Cooper. Stuart Anderson, The Importance of International Students to America. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY P a g e 10 International Students in Science and Engineering assistants. Their duties include conducting study sessions and grading, which “takes some of the burden off the faculty” to focus on teaching, according to Professor Cooper.10 International students at the graduate level are key to supporting research at many U.S. universities. In electrical engineering, international students account for 83% of the full-time graduate students at Auburn University, 81% at Duke University, 61% at the University of Kentucky, 88% at Texas A&M, 88% at SMU and 73% at the University of Texas at Austin. In computer and information sciences, international students account for 80% of the full-time graduate students at Rice University, 63% at Texas Tech, 67% at UCLA, 76% at North Carolina State, 70% at LSU, 77% at George Mason University, 61% at Vanderbilt, 56% at West Virginia University and 72% at Virginia Tech. PROCLAMATION BLOCKS CHINESE GRADUATE STUDENTS In May 2020, the Trump administration issued presidential proclamation 10043 (PP10043) on the “Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain Students and Researchers from the People’s Republic of China.” The proclamation resulted in the State Department revoking many existing visas and denying other visas. After the resumption of consular activities in China, U.S. universities reported denials of J-1 visas for Chinese scholars and new and F-1 visas for graduate students in science and engineering. The implications of the denials have alarmed analysts and universities given the significant role Chinese graduate students and scholars play in key technical fields in the United States.11 The policy is likely to block at least 3,000 to 5,000 Chinese graduate students a year, according to the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University. This estimate may be low, depending how strictly the visa policy is enforced, and does not include individuals who choose to study in other countries in reaction to the proclamation. For every 1,000 entering doctoral students blocked annually for 10 years, implies lost tuition for United States graduate programs of nearly $1 billion using the National Center for Education Statistics average for 2018.12 This assumes average completion rate of doctoral students at Stanford (83%) and the average time to degree for doctoral students reported by the National Science Foundation (5.8 years), implying around 50,000 fewer years of 10 Ibid. 11 See Stuart Anderson, “Biden Keeps Costly Trump Visa Policy Denying Chinese Grad Students,” Forbes, August 10, 2021. 12 NCES estimated an average graduate tuition of $19,314 in 2018. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/xls/tabn330.50.xls. When multiplied by the estimated lost enrollment of 49,840 this suggests $962.6 million in lost tuition. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY P a g e 11 International Students in Science and Engineering attendance in U.S. graduate programs.13 Most foreign students are not eligible for financial aid program and pay full tuition rates. Rather than displace U.S. students, foreign students provide crucial support for the survival of many graduate program, actually increase the educational options for Americans seeking graduate training.14 When Ph.D. students earn tuition waivers in return for their labor as research assistants it is beneficial to both the student, who gains practical experience, and for universities and research funders. The cost to the United States of losing the contributions of these graduate students to research is likely to dwarf lost tuition. While the economic gains to research are widely spread through the whole economy, one concrete measure is patenting by universities. AUTM (formerly known as the Association of University Technology Managers) estimates that the more than 117,000 patents issued since 1996 are associated with an additional $865 billion in GDP—an average of $7.4 million per patent.15 A 2008 study (Chellaraj, et.al., 2008) found that each additional foreign student increased patents by 0.57. Taken together, this suggests an economic loss of $210 billion for every 1,000 Ph.D. students blocked annually over a ten-year period.16 These numbers do not include nearly 7,000 fewer Ph.D. scientist and engineers working in the U.S. labor force and innovations and patents created outside the university setting. POSTDOCS Postdoctoral research appointments, better known as “postdocs,” are temporary research positions for recent Ph.D. recipients, typically lasting two to five years, where they work under more senior scientists who have research funding. Postdocs are an important part of scientific research in the United States—over 100,000 workers that are already experienced in advanced research, they provide much of the labor, ideas, and innovation in many labs 17 In the Fall of 2019, the National Science Foundation counted 36,795 temporary visa holders in postdoc positions within graduate science and engineering departments at American universities (56% of the total). Around two- 13 Even assuming all students not completing their doctorates dropped out of the program after their first year, these numbers imply a loss of 49,840 graduate student years. Stanford’s completion rate for doctorate students is reported at https://irds.stanford.edu/data-findings/doctoral-degree-programs-completion-and-time-degree and represents the completion rate of the 2012/2013 entering cohort. The National Science Foundation estimate of 5.8 year is the time since entering the doctoral program for recipients of new U.S. Ph.D.s in 2019 reported in National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2020. Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2019. NSF 21-308. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21308/. 14 Kevin Shih. 15 https://autm.net/AUTM/media/Surveys-Tools/Documents/FY20-Infographic.pdf. 16 Gnanaraj Chellaraj, Keith E. Maskus and Aaditya Mattoo, The Contribution of Internatioanl Graduate Students to U.S. Innovation, Review of Internatioal Economics, 16(3), 444-462, 2008. 17 There is no comprehensive source of data on postdocs working in the United States. In Science and Engineering Indicators 2008, NSF estimated that only around half of postdocs were in the graduate departments covered by it’s survey. Other postdocs are at academic research institutes, government labs, and private industry. Since that same survey reported more than 66,000 postdocs in academic departments in 2019, “somewhere over 100,000” is a conservative estimate. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY P a g e 12 International Students in Science and Engineering thirds of this total (22,349) were in the biological and medical sciences. There is also a large presence of foreign postdocs in engineering (5,577) and the physical sciences (4,520). Table 5 Postdocs Working in U.S. Science and Engineering Graduate Departments by Field (2019) Postdocs Total Percent Temporary Visa 55.5% Number Working on Temporary Visa 36,795 U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents 29,452 Source: National Foundation for American Policy tabulation of National Science Foundation Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, Public Use Microdata files A separate NSF data source (the Survey of Doctorate Recipients) shows only 6,500 holders of Ph.D.’s from U.S. universities with temporary visas in academic postdoc positions, which means the vast majority of these 36,795 foreign postdocs have received their Ph.D.’s from universities outside the United States.18 This provides the United States with direct connections to research recently performed at universities around the world. It also provides a gateway for foreign-trained scientists to enter the United States. Table 6 Postdocs Working in U.S. Science and Engineering Graduate Departments by Field (2019) Field Petroleum engineering Nanotechnology Engineering mechanics, physics, and science Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering Ophthalmology Metallurgical and materials engineering Biological and biosystems engineering Nuclear engineering Biotechnology Percent Temporary Visa 81.9% 76.8% 76.7% 73.6% Number Working on Temporary Visa 59 116 138 167 73.1% 954 72.7% 380 71.8% 461 71.3% 62 71.3% 57 70.1% 61 U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents 13 35 42 60 351 143 181 25 23 26 18 NFAP calculation using the National Science Foundation 2019 Public Use File of the Survey of Doctorate Recipients. Some of these academic postdocs will be in research institutes not counted in NSF’s GSS survey. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Mechanical engineering Materials sciences Endocrinology Industrial and manufacturing engineering Biophysics Chemical engineering Biomedical sciences Computer science Statistics Agricultural engineering Oncology and cancer research Physics Civil engineering Radiological sciences Molecular biology Hematology Computer and information sciences, general Engineering Otorhinolaryngology Dental sciences Chemistry Mining engineering Biochemistry Agricultural sciences Biostatistics and bioinformatics Pathology and experimental pathology Pharmacology and toxicology Cell, cellular biology, and anatomical sciences Pharmaceutical sciences Bioengineering and biomedical engineering Microbiological sciences and immunology Physiology Biological and biomedical sciences Cardiology Genetics Atmospheric sciences and meteorology Geological and earth sciences Economics (except agricultural) Anesthesiology 69.3% 69.1% 69.0% 68.9% 68.3% 68.1% 67.8% 67.4% 66.9% 66.1% 65.7% 65.6% 65.5% 65.4% 64.7% 64.3% 64.3% 64.1% 64.0% 63.3% 63.1% 60.9% 60.7% 59.3% 58.8% 58.6% 58.6% 58.3% 58.1% 57.2% 56.6% 56.5% 56.4% 55.7% 55.6% 54.6% 54.2% 53.8% 53.6% 791 179 238 115 112 788 1317 328 119 74 1202 1785 567 753 369 279 169 347 176 200 2134 14 1161 640 424 763 598 1041 634 867 1123 927 487 439 819 136 458 71 265 351 80 107 52 52 369 625 159 59 38 628 936 298 399 201 155 94 194 99 116 1249 9 751 439 297 539 423 744 457 648 862 713 376 349 653 113 387 61 229 P a g e 13 NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Neurobiology and neuroscience Computer and information sciences Astronomy and astrophysics Physical sciences Mathematics and applied mathematics Gastroenterology Botany and plant biology Surgery Neurology Obstetrics and gynecology Clinical medicine Pediatrics History and philosophy of science Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies Biology Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences Nutrition science Zoology and animal biology Ocean and marine sciences Geography and cartography Environmental science and studies Agricultural economics Linguistics Epidemiology Other health Research and experimental psychology Public health Public policy analysis Forestry, natural resources, and conservation Veterinary biomedical and clinical sciences Ecology and population biology Communication disorders sciences Social sciences Pulmonary disease Political science and government Clinical psychology Psychiatry Psychology, general 53.2% 53.1% 53.1% 52.9% 52.8% 52.6% 51.9% 51.5% 50.5% 49.4% 49.0% 48.7% 47.6% 47.3% 47.3% 46.4% 46.4% 46.1% 45.3% 44.5% 39.7% 38.5% 38.5% 38.2% 38.2% 36.8% 36.7% 35.0% 34.4% 34.3% 33.1% 32.0% 31.9% 31.3% 31.2% 29.2% 28.5% 28.1% 1179 68 303 119 471 151 346 708 741 154 1951 616 10 460 1041 135 89 187 178 57 110 20 15 109 209 92 309 77 182 233 137 24 139 86 53 21 286 186 1037 60 268 106 421 136 321 668 725 158 2031 648 11 512 1162 156 103 219 215 71 167 32 24 176 338 158 534 143 347 446 277 51 297 189 117 51 718 477 P a g e 14 NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering Sociology 25.8% 41 Anthropology 24.3% 36 International relations and national security 23.5% 20 studies Nursing science 20.8% 25 Counseling and applied psychology 19.8% 33 Criminal justice and safety studies 18.8% 3 Human development 13.5% 21 P a g e 15 118 112 65 95 134 13 135 Source: National Foundation for American Policy tabulation of National Science Foundation Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, Public Use Microdata files CONCLUSION International students play an essential role preserving America’s position as a center of scientific and technological innovation. For international students to continue playing that role, it is necessary for the United States to maintain reasonable visa policies for international students and to make it easier for students to work after graduation, including preserving STEM OPT and improved policies on H-1B visas, per-country limits and employment-based green cards. In the long term, continuing a U.S. visa policy that blocks many Chinese graduate students from attending U.S. universities might deal a significant blow to innovation and scientific research in America. NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY International Students in Science and Engineering P a g e 16 ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY Established in 2003, the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization based in Arlington, Virginia, focusing on trade, immigration and related issues. Advisory Board members include Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati, Cornell Law School professor Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, Ohio University economist Richard Vedder and former INS Commissioner James Ziglar. Over the past 24 months, NFAP’s research has been written about in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other major media outlets. The organization’s reports can be found at www.nfap.com. Twitter: @NFAPResearch 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201 Tel (703) 351- 5042 | Fax (703) 351-9292 | www.nfap.com
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