Number of international graduate apps stays consistent

While international applications submitted to American graduate schools have risen noticeably this year, Penn graduate programs have seen consistent numbers.

A seven-percent rise this year halted a three-year national trend of diminishing growth in graduate applications, according to a recent report by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Penn graduate programs, however, did not see as dramatic of an increase. “We are stable and maintaining the numbers we’ve had in the last two to three years,” International Student and Scholar Services Director Rudie Altamirano said, referring to international population of graduate students as a whole.

Specifically, the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences has seen consistent statistics.

The number of international applications didn’t differ from recent years, according to the SAS Dean for Graduate Studies Ralph Rosen.

“There is one interesting trend to look at though,” Rosen said. Over the past 10 years, international applications have risen about 60 percent. This long-term increase is likely due to SAS’s global recruitment efforts in places like China and Puerto Rico.

California is also targeted because of the state’s large international population.

“We want to reach out to people outside of the United States for the obvious reasons,” Rosen said. “And people from all over the world are attracted to the type of education they can get at a place like Penn.”

In the Penn School of Medicine only 151 applications were international, the school did not see substantial change in international numbers. Director of Medical School Admissions and Financial Aid Gaye Sheffler attributes the small proportion of international interest to the unavailability of federal loans or school financial aid for students who are not permanent residents of the United States.

“Not many international students apply to the Medical School because we are very up-front about our requirements,” Sheffler said. “They must provide documentation that they can pay on their own.”

The only exceptions are students in the Biomedical Graduate Studies program, whose doctoral programs are funded by the University.

Penn Law School saw an increase in international applications — 1,183 this year compared to 1,140 in 2009. But their number of enrolled international students also remains steady. Since 2005, Penn Law’s international interest has risen at an average of 64 more applications each year.

In the Master of Laws program, students who already have a law degree from a country outside of the United States come to Penn for specialized courses and seminars.

“The Law School has multiple staff members dedicated specifically to assisting these students with issues ranging from housing, visas and other general acclimation issues to career planning and placement and academic advising,” Penn Law Dean for International Programs Matthew Parker wrote in an e-mail.

Such staff members and programs in the individual graduate departments help accommodate these students, but International Student and Scholar Services acts as an over arching support system.

The federal government and Department of State mandate ISSS and require Altamirano and his staff to oversee all graduate students from foreign countries. ISSS provides immigration and support services so that these students are able to adjust fully into the Penn community.

“The programs that we’re doing are excellent,” Altamirano said. “The feedback that I get from our students is very, very positive.”

This article has been edited from its print version to reflect that the three-year trend in international graduate school applications has been slowed growth not less applicants.

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