The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported international graduate school applications dipped for the second consecutive year. Fall 2018 international graduate school applications dropped by 4% while enrollment fell by 1%.
CGS President Dr. Suzanne Ortega declared, “This is the first time we’ve seen declines across two consecutive years, and while we think it’s too soon to consider this a trend, it is troubling. We continue to monitor issues, including changes in immigration and visa policy, with growing concern over the possible negative impact to the U.S.’s image as a welcoming destination for international students and scholars.”
We concur with Dr. Ortega that is too soon to consider this a trend. A breakout by field of study shows international application grew in health sciences (5%) and math and computer science (6%). Additionally, international doctoral enrollment increased by 3%. International business applications dropped by 8%. However, we recently blogged that competition from international business schools is at least partially responsible for that decline.
