Skip to main content
Log in

International doctorates: trends analysis on their decision to stay in US

  • Published:
Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite the significant implications of the foreign doctorates’ stay or return decision on a personal level, as well as for the home and host countries, there is very little research that provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors that predict international doctorates’ decision to stay in the US and how those factors differ by country of origin or field of study. In addition, the patterns of stay (versus return) and the factors influencing those decisions may have changed over time, partly due to the changes in the immigration policies of the US and in economic development or national policy of home countries. Therefore, this study examines the patterns of international doctorates’ stay versus return decision from a historical perspective across the period of the 1980, 1990, and 2000s. Using data from the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), collected in the US, this study enables us to move beyond a static understanding of the relative stay rates by country to an examination of how country-specific changes, such as shifts in economic development or national policy (push/pull factors), may relate to shifts in the stay versus return decision with a particular emphasis on the field specific effects.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The 1980s cohort includes individuals who received their doctoral degrees from 1984 given that the available variables have changed significantly since 1984. The 2000s cohort data include individuals who received degrees by 2005 which is the most current data available for the analysis.

  2. The original sample size for the 1990s is 31,979. To have more comparable sample sizes across the years, 70% of the data (N = 22,404) were randomly selected for further analysis.

  3. The predicted probabilities are calculated in STATA 10.1 with the prob command.

References

  • Altbach, P. G. (1991). Impact and adjustment: Foreign students in comparative perspective. Higher Education, 21(3), 305–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrade, M. (2006). International students in english-speaking universities: Adjustment factors. Journal of Research in International Education, 5(2), 131–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aslanbeigui, N., & Montecinos, V. (1998). Foreign students in US doctoral programs. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(3), 171–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, G. A., & Wu, R. Y. (1995). The international student exchange network: 1970 and 1989. Higher Education, 30(4), 353–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., Budhwar, P. S., & Khatri, N. (2007). Brain drain: Inclination to stay abroad after studies. Journal of World Business, 42, 99–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertram, C., Wedekind, V., & Muthukrishna, N. (2007). Newly qualified South African teachers: Staying or leaving? Perspectives in Education, 25(2), 77–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, M., & Anderson, C. (1963). Concerning the role of education in development. In C. Geertz (Ed.), Old societies and new states (pp. 247–279). Glencoe, IL: Free Press of Glencoe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brzozowski, J. P. (2007). Brain waste, educational investments and growth in transitional countries, Cracow University of Economics. Available: http://ssrn.com/abstract=991785.

  • Burrelli, J. (2004). Emigration of US-born S & E doctorate recipients. National Science Foundation Info Brief, NSF 04–327. Washington DC: NSF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camarota & McArdle (2003, September). Where immigrants live: An examination of state residency of the foreign born by country of origin. Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies. Available: http://www.cis.org/articles/2003/back1203.html.

  • Congressional Budget Office (June 2007). Federal support for research and development. Congress of the United States.

  • Das Gupta, M., Nerad, M., & Cerny, J. (2003, Spring). International Ph.D.’s: Exploring the decision to stay or return. International Higher Education. Retrieved 23 Oct 2008 from http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/News31/text008.htm.

  • Dedrick, J., & Kraemer, K. L. (1998). Asia’s computer challenge: Threat or opportunity for the United States? New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, A. & Poutvaara, P. (2005). Student flows and migration: An empirical analysis. CESifo working paper no. 1490, 1–24.

  • Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (August, 2007b). Intellectual property, the immigration backlog, and a reverse brain-drain. Kansas City, KS.

  • Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (January, 2007a). America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs. Kansas City, KS.

  • Finn, M. (1997). A stay rates of foreign doctorate recipients from US universities, 1995. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, M. (2007a). Stay rates of foreign doctorate recipients from US universities, 2005. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, M. G. (October, 2007b). Using NSF data on scientists and engineers to estimate stay rates of foreign doctorate recipients. Paper presented at the Workshop for Using Human Resource Data from Science Resources Statistics. National Science Foundation, VA.

  • Freeman, R. B. (2006). People flows in globalization. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(2), 145–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, G. P., & Hill, D. K. (2006). Disaggregating immigration policy: The politics of skilled labor recruitment in the US. Knowledge, Technology, & Policy, 19(3), 7–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, R., Stephan, P., & Trumpbour, J. (January, 2008). Career patterns of foreign born scientists and engineers trained and or working in the US (Workshop Report). Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/~sewp/Workshop.Report.November.2007.pdf

  • Gribble, C. (2008). Policy options for managing international student migration: The sending country’s perspective. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 30(1), 25–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heikinheimo, P., & Shute, J. (1986). The adaptation of foreign students: Student views and institutional implications. Journal of College Student Personnel, 27(5), 399–406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffer, T. B., Grigorian, K. H., & Hedberg, E. C. (2008). Postdoc participation of science, engineering, and health doctorate recipients. Infobrief, NSF 08-307. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, SBE-Division of Science Resources Statistics.

  • Hoffer, T. B., Welch, V., Jr., Webber, K., Williams, K., Lisek, B., Hess, M., et al. (2006). Doctorate recipients from United States Universities: Summary report 2005. Chicago: NORC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of International Education. (2007). Open doors 2007. New York: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of International Education. (2008). Open doors 2008. New York: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. M., & Regets, M. C. (1998). International mobility of scientists and engineers to the United States-Brain drain or brain circulation? Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. & Rury, J. (2010). The Rise of the Commuter student: A statistical analysis of attending college while living at Home in the United States, 1960–1980. Teachers College Record.

  • Kim, D., Twombly, S. & Wolf-Wendel, L. (2009, April). International faculty: Perception and productivity. Paper presented at the annual conference of American Educational Research Association (AERA). San Diego, CA.

  • Klomegah, R. (2006). Social factors relating to alienation experienced by international students in the United States. College Student Journal, 40(20), 303–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training. (2007). Careers of Korean Ph.D.s with Degrees of Foreign Countries and the HRD Policy of the Highly Skilled in Korea, Jin, M., Lee S., Yoon, H., Kim, N., & Oh, H. Seoul, Korea.

  • Lee, J. J., & Rice, C. (2007). Welcome to America? International student perceptions of discrimination. Higher Education, 53, 381–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C. (2005). Bridging minds across the Pacific: US–China educational exchanges, 1978–2003. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazzarol, T., & Soutar, G. N. (2002). Push-pull factors influencing international student destination choice. The International Journal of Educational Management, 16(2), 82–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Science Foundation. (2006). Science and engineering indicators. Washington, DC.: NSF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olivas, M., & Li, C. S. (2006). Understanding stressors of international students in higher education: What college counselors and personnel need to know. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 33(3), 217–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2002, July). International mobility of the highly skilled (Policy Brief). Retrieved 14 Sept 2009 from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/9/20/1950028.pdf.

  • Perna, L. W., & Titus, M. A. (2005). The relationship between parental involvement as social capital and college enrollment: An examination of racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher Education, 76, 486–518.

    Google Scholar 

  • Psacharopoulos, G. (2006). The value of investment in education: Theory, evidence, and policy. Journal of Education Finance, 32(2), 113–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahay, A. (2006). Brain drain or gain: Migration of knowledge workers from India to the United States. Dissertation Abstracts International, DAI-A 67/09.

  • Saxenian, A. (2002). Brain circulation: How high-skill immigration makes everyone better off. The Brookings Review, 20(1), 28–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saxenian, A. (2005). From brain drain to brain circulation: Transnational communities and regional upgrading in India and China. Studies in Comparative International Development, 40(2), 35–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selfa, L., & Grigorian, K. (October, 2006). The international survey of doctorate recipients and an analysis of ‘Brain Circulation.’ Paper presented at the National Science Foundation for the Workshop on Using Human Resource Data from Science Resources Statistics, National Science Foundation to Study the Science and Engineering Workforce. Arlington, VA.

  • Shen, Y., & Herr, E. (2004). Career placement concerns of international graduate students: A qualitative study. Journal of Career Development, 31(1), 15–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O., Helmenstein, C., & Prskawetz, A. (1997). A brain gain with a brain drain. Economics Letters, 55(2), 227–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephan, P.E. & Levin, S.G. (April, 2003). Foreign scholars in US science: Contributions and costs. Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, May 20-21, 2003 Draft.

  • Tansel, & Güngör, (2003). Brain drain” from Turkey: Survey evidence of student non-return. Career Development International, 8(2), 52–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch, A. R., & Zhen, Z. (2008). Higher education and global talent flows: Brain drain, overseas Chinese intellectuals, and diasporic knowledge networks. Higher Education Policy, 21(4), 519–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhai, L. (2002). Studying international students: Adjustment issues and social support. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED474481).

  • Zweig, D., & Changgui, C. (1995). China’s brain drain to the United States. Berkeley: University of California’s Institute of East Asian Studies.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dongbin Kim.

Appendices

Appendix A

See Table 5.

Table 5 Descriptive statistics for the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s cohort

Appendix B

See Table 6.

Table 6 Predicted probabilities: 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kim, D., Bankart, C.A.S. & Isdell, L. International doctorates: trends analysis on their decision to stay in US. High Educ 62, 141–161 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9371-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9371-1

Keywords

Navigation