The Role of International Students in Domestic Engineering Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This engineering education research award to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will employ researchers to develop a clearer understanding of the role that international students play in establishing the culture of a graduate engineering community, such as a department or research group, with particular emphasis on how this community affects domestic student recruitment and retention. Investigating the socialization of engineering graduate students in engineering communities that are internationally diverse compared to many undergraduate environments represents a major step in identifying a potential significant factor affecting domestic graduate student attrition. Understanding the factors that influence attrition will ultimately increase domestic undergraduate enrollment and retention in graduate programs. An advisory board of engineering graduate deans, a department head, and a graduate education researcher from four collaborating institutions will oversee the project and host a summit of 40 engineering graduate deans, department heads, faculty, and graduate students in 2011 in Washington, DC. Results from this research are likely to have a significant impact on understanding what universities can do to foster an environment that is conducive to increasing domestic participation in engineering Ph.D. programs. Increasing such participation will enhance the innovation potential of US universities and thus contribute directly to economic competitiveness.