Excerpt

In an effort to address the complex conditions affecting the relative standing of US Science and Engineering (S&E), the National Academies charged the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP) to address the following questions: What is known about the impact of international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars on the advancement of US science, US undergraduate and graduate educational institutions, the US and other national economies, and US national security and international relations? What is the impact of the US academic system on international graduate students' and postdoctoral scholars' intellectual development, careers, and perceptions of the United States? How does it differ if they stay in the United States or return to their home countries? What is known about the impact of international student enrollment on the recruitment of domestic S&E talent in the United States? What is the status of working conditions for international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars compared with their domestic counterparts? What are the impacts of various policies that reshape or reduce the flow of international students and postdoctoral scholars (for example, visas, immigration rules, and working conditions)? What findings and conclusions can be drawn from the answers to the preceding questions? What principles should guide national policy regarding international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars?

Contents

• The National Academies
• Committee on Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States
• Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
• Board on Higher Education and Workforce
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• Introduction
  • ATTRACTING THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST
  • OPEN BORDERS, SECURE BORDERS
  • SIGNS OF A BROADER TREND
  • ACCESS TO THE BEST TALENT
  • DEFINITION OF TERMS
• 1. International Science and Engineering Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States
  • TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE-STUDENT ENROLLMENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL APPOINTMENTS
  • ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS
  • IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS ON NATIONAL SECURITY
  • IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
  • CONCLUSION
• 2. Shaping the Flow of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars: Visa and Immigration Policy
  • NONIMMIGRANT VISA POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
  • OTHER IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND CONDITIONS
  • RECENT EVENTS
  • CONCLUSION
• 3. The Globalization of Science and Engineering
  • RELATIVE POSITION OF THE US SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ENTERPRISE
  • RISING MOBILITY AND BRAIN DRAIN
  • RISING GLOBAL CAPACITY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
  • GLOBAL COMPETITION FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS
  • INTEGRATING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING POLICY WITH FOREIGN POLICY
  • CONCLUSION
• 4. Strategies for Improving Policy Decisions
  • DATA WEAKNESSES
  • DATA-COLLECTION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY
  • ANALYTIC WEAKNESSES
  • THE UNKNOWN FUTURE
  • POLICY SCENARIOS
  • CONCLUSION
• 5. Findings and Recommendations
• Appendixes
  • A Committee and Staff Biographic Information
  • B Charge to the Committee
  • C US Travel and Attitudes Toward the United States
  • D Bibliography

Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation under grant number 0342159; the National Institutes of Health, under contract number 1-OD-4-2137 Task Order 137; and the National Academies.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.