international chemical education, 1
An Overview of lnternational Chemical Education David C. Hiiderbrand Chemistry Department and lnternational Programs, South Dakota State University, Box 2202, Brookings, SD 57007-0896
F. Huckenpohier Division of Science Resources Studies, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. 20550
J.
This article is the first in a series designed to increase understanding of some of the differences in technical education found in various international settings. We begin by looking at the country of origin for all international students studying abroad and at US. universities. Later we focus on international graduate students and postdoctorates at U.S. universties. We also look at the chaneine trends of the past decade in the percentages and ori& oYf international students-and some of their ~otentialramifications on chemical education. Future articles will describe in detail the differing approaches to chemical education in various international regions. Disparity in Participation Colleges and universities in the United States play an extensive and growing role in the education of students from throughout the world. The United States serves as the host country for 34% of all students who study internationally. By contrast, relatively few US. students enroll in degree programs abroad. For example, in 1988, the United States was the country of origin for only 2% of the international students worldwide who were enrolled in degree programs I I , . T h s number does not include students involved in short-tcrm studvabroad programs.
students at each of the 2,879 institutions included in the survey. Nine of the ten leading countries of origin are in Asia, with the People's Republic of China sending the most students at 39,600. Canada, in sixth place, was the only nonAsian country in the top 10. However, more than 1,000 students from each of 67 countries were enrolled in US. universities in 1990-1991. lnternational Students-Percentage By U.S. Educational Institution
The percentage of the total enrollment that is composed of international students varies widely at different institutions. The highest reported percentage was 21.8 at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Numerically, the largest number of international students at one US. institution was 5,757 at Miami-Dade Community College. Seven other US. institutions each Table 1. Percentage of lnternational Students by Leading Countries of Origin Enrolled in U.S. Universities Country of Origin
Country of Origin for lnternational Students Changes Since 1960 The number and distribution of international students who come to the United States has changed dramatically in recent years. The total number of international students has increased almost by a factor of 8 since 1960. In addition, the countries of origin for these students has changed and will probably continue to do so. In 1960,38%of international students in the US. came from Asia; today 56% do. In the same period, the percentages of international students who come from other areas has dropped as shown below. Latin America, from 18%to 12% North America, from 12% to 5% Middle East, from 13%to 5% Over this same period, the percentage of international students who have come from Europe, Africa, and Oceania has remained essentially constant (2). At the graduate level, 66% of the international students are from Asia. Table 1indicates the wide variation in the proportion of degree-seeking international students who elect to enroll in the United States from different countries of origin. More Recent Changes In 1990-1991, the total number of graduate and undergraduate international students in the United States increased more than 5'7 (to 407,530, over comparable numbers for 1989-1990. This is an average of 141 international 48
Journal of Chemical Education
of Enrollment
Chinaa Malaysia Iran Morocw Greece Korea Japan Germany India HongKong United States Italy Turkey Jordan Canada United Kingdom Algeria Lebanon Nigeria Syria Total
Number of Students Percentage Studying Studying Abroad in the US.
1,080,000
Selected Data from O m D w m 1990 1991 (1). 'Indudes Taiwan
33.9
Table 2. Full-Time Graduate Students at Doctoral-Granting lnstltutions
had more than 3,000 international students. These data are summarized below.
.
Miami-Dade Community College (5,757) The University of Southern California (over 3,000) The University of Texas at Austin The University of Wisconsin at Madison The University of Pennsylvania Ohio StabMain Campus Boston University Columbia University
Discipline
Year
Physical and Biolosical
1979 1984
The of international students in US. sci-~~~enrollments -~~~ ence and engineering programs parallel the overall statistics. The number of international students included ~~~~~~~~~~~
~~
~
73,620 in engineering 12,610 in the life sciences 18,850 in the physical sciences
When all fields of study are included, international students in the US. are almost equally divided, according to class status, between undergraduate (46.4%)and graduate students (44.7%).However, in engineering programs, the international students who enroll are more likely to be graduate students (56.9%).This trend is especially evident in the physical and life sciences, where 72.7% of the international students have a graduate status (4). The immediate affect of these statistics on chemical education is thus primarily felt in graduate programs. The varying background of graduate students should play a key role in the design and implementation ofgraduate curricula. Future Considerations
In the future, the significance of these trends may not be limited to the education of graduate students. The enrollment trends for international students in U.S. graduate schools may also affect undergraduate education trends in US. institutions. If an increasing number of faculty positions are fdled by individuals with a different undergraduate experience, their input to curriculum decisions may lead to changes in undergraduate curricular design and emphasis. Unfortunately, current members of most U.S. chemistry departments have a limited understanding of the differences in chemical education in the differentareas of the world. Enrollment Trends in Doctoral-Granting Programs The National Science Foundation published extensive data on graduate students and postdoctorates in 1990 (5). The data covers science and engineering program enrollments primarily for the 1980's, with selected data dating back to the mid-1970's. Graduate Programs
The changes in the percentage of international students during this time are very significant in the sciences, in general, and in chemistry and closely related fields, in particular. Table 2 Drovides selected data on maduate student enrollment in U.S. universities for the period of 1979 to 1989 based on the student's citizens hi^. The table lists enrollment numbers according to twigeneral areas (the physical and biological sciences, and engineering) and three specific areas (chemistry,biochemistry, and chemical engineering) The data in Table 2 also indicate that the number of US. citizens enrolled in graduate programs in chemistry and
International
% International
Engineering
1979 1984
Chemistry
1981 1989
Biochemistry
1981 1989
51,540 47.7&1
6,291 13.051
10.9 21.4
Chemical 1981 Engineering 1989 2;664 Selected Data from NSF repon (6).
2;564
49.0
Fifty-five U S . institutions had more than 1,500 international students (3). Graduate Science and Engineering Programs
US.
Citizen
Table 3. Full-Time Postdoctorates at Doctoral-Granting Institutions
Discipline
Year
U.S.
International % lnternational
Citizen
Chemistry
1981 1989
1.216 1,356
1,654 2,117
57.6 61.O
Biochemistry
1981 1989
1,016 1,182
708 1,072
41 .O 47.6
43 1981 Chemical Engineering 1989 107 Seleaed Data from NSF repon (8).
128 331
75.0 76.0
related disciplines has remained essentially constant since 1979, the first year for which data is available. However, the number of international students enrolled has increased sienificantlv in all disciolines. In the broad classification of the biological and physical sciences, the increase was 329%. The ~ercentaeeof international maduate students ranged f r m 30 in biochemistry to 49 inchemical engineering in 1989. ~
~~
~~
-
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Postdoctorate Programs
The proportion of postdoctorates in the United States filled by individuals of international citizenship is even greater than the percentage of graduate students. As indicated in Table 3. the ~ercentaeeof international ~ostdoctorates was 61 in chekstry, 4 i in biochemistry, a& 76 in chemical engineering. Thus, at fust glance, it appears that most of the individuals who are receiving the highest level of training are international students. However, the numbers may be somewhat misleading because an international student frequently spends more years in a postdoctoral position than a US. citizen in an otherwise similar situation. This is due to several factors, including the desire of many international students to obtain as much education and training as possible before returning to one's home country ~1so;the;nternational student often encounters difficultyin meeting the visa status guidelines needed for a perm&ent nonacademic position in this country. Volume 70 Number 1 January 1993
49
Contrasts in Baccalaureate Programs Chemical Educatior,in the U S .
The guidelines of the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society for certified programs provides detailed expectations for undergraduates in this country. However, the content and philosophy of the chemical curricula that most international students have completed vary greatly from the typical ACS-certified preparation of most US. students. The ACS requirements include a broad-based core curriculum in the subdisciplines of chemistry and related fields with extensive laboratory experience (7).In addition, expectations for faculty preparation, library facilities, and chemical instrumentation are included. In most settings, these specific ACS requirements are complemented by a significant general-education core and some free electives. Typically, approximately one-third of the undergraduates credits are general-education core courses. One-third are courses in the major, and one-third are a combination of supporting courses and free electives. Chemical EducationAbroad
The design of chemical education in other nations will be discussed in more detail in future articles in this series. Only rarely is the international design similar to the U.S. design. In many countries, more emphasis is placed on course work in the major and less on general education and support-area requirements in th eundergraduate program. Examples of typical programs of study will be provided in later articles in this series. The undermaduate deeree may even be specialized on one of the subdiscip1ines;such as organic chemistry, or in an applied area of chemistry, rather than he a broad-based chemistry or chemical engineering degree. Fewer instrumentation and library resources may be available, and the qualifications of the faculty may be different. In any given country or institution, the graduates may have strengths beyond those of the U.S. student in one aspect-and weaknesses in other areas. Changes in Enrollment Trends There are many behind the trends seen in the enrollment of international students in US. graduate programs in the chemical sciences.
Quality of US.Institutions First, higher education in the United States is highly appealing internationally. One-third of all students studying internationally are in the United States ( I ) . France, with the second largest number if international students, is host to about 10% of the total international student population. This factor is particularly apparent in the sciences and engineering andat the graduate level, Changes in National Policies Second, the changes in the national policies of other countries, such as the People's Republic of China, has greatly affected the numbers of students studying abroad. In 1984, only 10,100 students fmm the People's Republic of China studied in the US. By 1990 the number had increased to 39,600 (9). The changing political scenes in Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union have not yet had time to show their full effect on enrollment patterns. Whether these changes will be primarily felt in ~ u r o or ~ whether e the effect will spill over into the U S . is not yet known. Cost and Availability We must also consider the relative availability and cost of higher education in the United States. Surprisingly, the 50
Journal of Chemical Education
number of students fmm Japan has increased (from 10,290 to 36,610) almost as rapidly as the numbers from the People's Republic of China during the same time period. (Among Chinese students, 82% are graduate students, compared to only 18%of the Japanese students.) This trend reflects an increased affluence that allows students to study in the U.S., either by choice or because they do not gain acceptance to the desired institution in Japan. Japanese organizations have also been active in the purchase of some US. colleges and universities that now have significant Japanese enrollments (9). Static and Decreasing Interest among US. Students The number of U.S. students pursuing an education in the sciences has been relatively static over this time period and has even decreased in some cases. If enrollment in science and engineering majors by US. students had paralleled the increase in enrollments in other areas, the percentage increase of international students in the sciences would not be as striking. If there is an alarming aspect to the overall enrollment trends, it is not that the number of international students is increasing but rather that the number of U.S. science students is not increasing. Potential Impact of Enrollment Trends The future effect of these enrollment trends on chemical education and the chemistry community are difficult to predict. One very positive result is the input received from individuals with various educational backgrounds and exoeriences. Also. the large number of international students :an only enhahce thevexchange of knowledge and ideas. The personal, international links that oRen form between individual scientists have been an essential aspect and traditional strenpth of the discipline. With the potential shortages bf graduate-trained chemists in the future, a larger percentage of faculty positions will probably be filled by individuals who received their undergraduate training outside the United States. Thus, in the long term, the collective support of chemistry faculties for a strong general-education core as part of 'liheral arts or land-grant education may weaken as fewer faculty personally experience that type of education. Thus, in the long term, the couedive undergraduate experience of viduals filling facultv nositions mav chance. This in turn may shiR t h l expect"aiions that fa<y have for students receiving an undergraduate degree. In addition, there is increasing pressure on the curriuculum from the continuously increasing volume of material in our discipline that we consider to be essential. These two factors have the potential of challenging the time that has traditionally been available for the general education core in liberal arts and land grant institutions and the definition of an "educated
On the shorter term,the faculties of paduate education programs may need to consider compensating for the absence of a broad-based liberal arts education bv" reauirine an increased amount of interdisciplinary coune work at least in the related and supporting disciplines.
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Summary
The trend toward increased proportions of chemistry graduate students of international background is not a concern in itself. However, chemical educators need to be aware of the nature of chemical education around the world as it relates to the preparation of students entering graduate programs and to possible future directions for chemical iduiatiuon. The purpose of this series of papers is to raise the awarenessof the chemical educationcommunity of the varying backgrounds of our students.
