The Comings of the Foreign-born for PhD and Postdoctoral Study: A Sixteen Country Perspective

We analyze the decisions of foreign-born PhD and postdoctoral trainees in four fields of science to come to the United States vs. another country for study. Data are drawn from the GlobSci survey conducted in 2011 of research active scientists residing in sixteen countries. We find that in both cases the United States is the most common destination country. Individuals come to the U.S. to study because of the prestige of the program and/or career prospects. For recent trainees, the availability of financial assistance also plays an important role. When we expand the data to a longer time span, we find that the attractiveness of the U.S. compared to other countries for the PhD declines for those who received their degree after 2000; for postdoctoral training it has declined since 1990. Factors that discourage the foreign born from getting a PhD in the U.S. vs. another country are the perceived U.S. life style and the availability of fewer exchange programs, compared to those in other countries, especially in the EU. The relative attractiveness of fringe benefits discourages the foreign born from taking a postdoc position in the U.S. The countries that have been nibbling at the U.S. share include Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and Switzerland. France has gained appeal in attracting postdocs, but not in attracting PhD students. Canada has made gains in neither.