New Report on International Student Mobility

Today we’ve published a new report looking at Trends in International Student Mobility, based on global surveys of students applying for graduate-level courses between 2008-9 and 2012-13. The surveys asked respondents about their future study plans, including the countries they’d most like to study in (and why), the types of course they were applying to, their top priorities when making decisions about where to study, and their graduate career expectations and targets.

Trends in the internationalization of higher education

Comparing the two survey years, the report highlights the increasing internationalization of higher education – not just in terms of an overall growth in international student mobility, but also in the growing number of countries which are establishing themselves on the global higher education map. While the ‘big four’ Anglophone destinations (the US, UK, Australia and Canada) undoubtedly remain among the biggest international student magnets, the past decade has seen them gradually start to lose overall market share. In turn, other countries have grown in popularity – notably Germany, but also countries with much younger higher education systems, particularly in Asia.

Our survey responses on international student mobility reflect this, showing participants in 2012-13 identifying a much broader range of target study destinations – with Germany in particular accelerating in popularity. Meanwhile the increasing trend for the regionalized internationalization of higher education (with students studying outside of their own country but within their own world region) is reflected in a significant increase in the number of those considering destinations such as the United Arab Emirates.

Changes to international students’ priorities

A large focus of the report is on international students’ priorities when choosing where to study – both in terms of selecting a country, and deciding on a specific graduate-level program. Across both survey years, the leading priority for international students when deciding where to study was ‘international recognition of qualifications’. However, between the 2008-9 and 2012-13 surveys, this factor actually decreased slightly in importance, while a number of others gained greater prominence.

Notably, our survey respondents in 2012-13 were more likely to be considering the availability of scholarships or other financial aid, and whether they would like to stay and work locally after graduation. There was also an increase in the percentage of respondents who said it was important to choose an institution which offered graduates good employment prospects.

This reflects a global picture in which many countries are still living out the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, with unemployment levels remaining high – and often especially high among young people and new graduates. Likewise applicants’ growing prioritization of study costs and financial aid corresponds to a world in which financial pressures are being experienced by individuals and institutions alike. More students are aspiring to higher levels of education and international study, while more universities are complaining of funding cuts and squeezed resources.

Students aiming high in graduate career plans

Continuing the focus on graduate career outcomes, the report also looks at the future goals and expectations of those applying for a graduate-level degree. The results show fairly high expectations among those investing in a master’s or PhD, both in terms of target salary levels and professional roles. Interestingly, the majority of respondents in both survey years said that in 10 years’ time they saw themselves running their own business, reflecting the global ongoing fascination with entrepreneurship and start-ups. Other common target graduate career plans included CEO or director, senior academic, self-employed consultant and partner.

Salary expectations were correspondingly ambitious; in the 2012-13 survey, almost 18% of respondents said they were aiming at a salary of more than US$100,000 per year. A further 25% were hoping to earn at least US$61,000 per year after their studies. These high hopes for graduate career earnings were accompanied by equally high working hour expectations; the vast majority of respondents (almost 85%) said they expected to work more than a ‘standard’ 40-hour week in their first job after graduation.