Rise in Foreign Grade Students

Enrollment of foreign graduate students increased this fall—both at Harvard and across the nation—easing worries that post-Sept. 11 visa policies would deter overseas applicants from coming here.

At Harvard, total enrollment of foreign graduate students increased 3 or 4 percent, said Ricardo Maldonado, assistant director for administration in the Harvard International Office.

Foreign student enrollment rose 1 percent nationally, after three years of decline, while first-year enrollment of graduate students jumped 12 percent, according to a study released this week by the Council of Graduate Schools, a national organization dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research.

A spokesman for the council, Stuart Heiser, attributed the increase in part to efforts by the federal government to improve processing of student visas.

Vice Provost for International Affairs Jorge I. Dominguez said that post-Sept. 11 visa rules were “pretty draconian.”

He praised the International Office for learning how to effectively deal with the new regulations.

“There was a period of time after 9/11 when the office was strained very heavily,” he said, adding that the office increased its staff to deal with the issue. After the attacks, students complained about long waits for visa processing.

But cutting through red tape isn’t the only way that schools have increased foreign student enrollment. Heiser also credited graduate schools for improving outreach to prospective applicants.

Dominguez said that Harvard is “probably doing more” foreign recruitment, though he added that the University’s efforts are “highly decentralized.” At Harvard, student recruitment occurs on a departmental rather than University-wide level.

The increase in foreign graduate students comes as Harvard expands its presence overseas—and especially in Asia. This year the University launched a China Fund—in part to promote research projects with Chinese partners. And in March, then-President Lawrence H. Summers travelled to India for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new Harvard office in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, students from both those countries are coming to U.S. schools in greater numbers. The Council of Graduate Schools study found that first-time enrollment from India grew 32 percent—the fastest rate of any country—followed by China at 20 percent.

The large gain for China is “particularly noteworthy” because enrollment fell 8 percent in 2004, and only increased 3 percent in 2005, according to the report.

Harvard was one of the schools that saw a drop in applications from Chinese students after Sept. 11, prompting Summers to write a letter to then-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge ’67 protesting tightened visa policies. The drop in foreign applications to graduate programs at Harvard posed “a very serious problem for our students, for the University and, ultimately, for the United States,” Summers said at the time.

—Staff writer Stephanie S. Garlow can be reached at sgarlow@fas.harvard.edu.