| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 126
Scientific Communication and National Security
Appendix F
THE ROLE OF FOREIGN NATIONALS STUDYING OR WORKING IN U.S. UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER SECTORS
Mitchel B.Wallerstein
Staff Consultant
The number of foreign students in higher education in the United States increased substantially during the 1970s, especially at the graduate level. Underlying this trend were two major factors: (1) an increased demand for U.S. training to meet the needs of foreign nations for skilled scientific and engineering personnel, and (2) increased recruitment of foreign students by U.S. institutions to augment domestic enrollment. This trend is indicated clearly in Table 1. Enrollment of foreign students doubled during the 1970s at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, rising to almost 290,000 students in 1979.
GRADUATE TRAINING
The proportion of full-time graduate students in science and engineering (S&E) who were from foreign countries rose from 16 percent in 1974 to 20 percent in 1979. Although there was an increase in almost all S&E fields between 1974 and 1979, the growth was most dramatic in engineering and mathematical/computer sciences. Over 40 percent (16,200) of the 1979 graduate enrollment in engineering, and over 30 percent (4,300) of the enrollment in mathematical/computer sciences, consisted of foreign students (see Figure 1).
DOCTORATE PRODUCTION
Approximately 3,600 (or 1 out of every 5) S&E doctorates granted by U.S. universities in 1979 were awarded to foreign citizens. This is
The material in this appendix was derived primarily from two sources: (1) a National Science Foundation report, “Foreign participation in U.S. science and engineering higher education and labor markets” (NSF 81–316), and (2) data provided by the Commission on Human Resources of the National Research Council. Due to general nature of the data, however, it was not possible to determine the number of foreign nationals from any particular country participating in U.S. scientific and technological enterprises.
OCR for page 127
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 1 Foreign Enrollment in US Institutions of Higher Education, Selected Years, 1954–1979
Selected Years
All Institutions
Total Enrollment
Foreign Enrollment
Foreign as a Percentage of Total
1954
2,499,800
34,200
1.4
1964
5,320,000
82,000
1.5
1970
8,649,400
144,700
1.7
1975
11,290,700
179,300
1.6
1976
11,121,400
203,100
1.8
1977
11,415,000
235,500
2.1
1978
11,392,000
263,900
2.3
1979
11,707,100
286,300a
2.4a
aPreliminary.
SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics and Institute of International Education.
FIGURE 1 Foreign students as a percentage of full-time graduate science/engineering enrollment in doctorate-granting institutions within fields, 1974–1979.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
OCR for page 128
Scientific Communication and National Security
broken down by field of study in Table 2. In engineering alone, foreign nationals obtained about 1,200—or almost half—of the doctorates received by graduate students. The share of all S&E doctorates awarded to foreign nationals increased from about 15 percent in 1960 to 21 percent in 1979. Since then, it has remained relatively stable.
The large number of foreign citizens obtaining doctorates in the United States indicates the large amount of foreign interest in the high technology work underway in U.S. institutions. Foreign nationals with temporary visas received at least 20 percent of the S&E doctorates awarded in 1979 in each of more than 40 subspecialties. The largest percentages were in fuel technology/petroleum engineering (76 percent) and agricultural engineering (50 percent).
Table 3 lists the ten leading U.S. institutions that granted doctorates to foreign full-time graduate students. The University of California-Berkeley and M.I.T. were first and second, respectively, in both 1974 and 1979, but the other institutions on the list varied substantially during the five-year period. The top ten institutions (by size) accounted for 21 percent of all foreign graduate students in 1979, compared with 23 percent in 1974.
POSTDOCTORATES
Foreigners constituted about one-third (or almost 6,500) of the S&E postdoctorates employed in doctorate-granting institutions in 1979, down from almost one-half in 1977. Figure 2 shows that two of every three postdoctorate engineers in 1979 were foreign nationals. Similarly, about 50 percent of the postdoctorate positions in the physical sciences were held by persons with foreign citizenship. Likewise, foreign nationals held about 45 percent of the postdoctorate positions in mathematical/computer sciences. Table 4 presents a summary of the ten leading institutions for foreign S&E postdoctorate employment in 1979. These universities accounted for 27 percent of the foreigners with postdoctorates working in U.S. institutions.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION
Data from annual surveys conducted by the National Research Council’s Commission on Human Resources paints a more detailed picture of the fields of interest and types of employment of “science/engineering Ph.D.s with foreign citizenship in the United States in 1981.” The figures presented here vary somewhat from the preceding data because they are more recent. They are also particularly noteworthy in that they encompass foreign Ph.D.s in noneducational areas of S&E employment. Table 5 indicates, for example, that while about 55 percent of the foreign Ph.D.s were employed in U.S. educational institutions of all types, about 37 percent (391 of those replying to the survey) were working in business and industry, another 2.3 percent (42 of those replying) were working for nonprofit organizations, and 1.6 percent (22 of those replying) were working for the U.S. government. Foreign
OCR for page 129
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 2 Number and Percent Distribution of Ph.D. Recipients by Type of Citizenship for Selected Years
Field
1960
1965
1970
1975
1979
Total Science/Engineering
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
6,300
10,500
17,800
18,500
17,200
Percent US
85
83
82
78
79
Percent Foreign
15
17
18
22
21
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(3)
(3)
(6)
(7)
(6)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(12)
(14)
(12)
(15)
(15)
Physical Sciences
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
1,900
2,900
4,400
3,600
3,300
Percent US
88
86
84
77
79
Percent Foreign
13
15
16
23
21
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(3)
(3)
(6)
(8)
(6)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(10)
(12)
(10)
(15)
(15)
Mathematical Sciences
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
300
700
1,200
1,100
1,000
Percent US
81
86
84
76
74
Percent Foreign
19
14
16
24
26
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(4)
(3)
(5)
(7)
(7)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(15)
(11)
(11)
(17)
(19)
Engineering
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
800
2,100
3,400
3,000
2,500
Percent US
77
79
75
58
53
Percent Foreign
23
22
26
42
47
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(7)
(6)
(12)
(14)
(13)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(16)
(16)
(14)
(28)
(34)
Agriculture
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
400
600
800
900
900
Percent US
74
67
70
63
65
Percent Foreign
26
33
30
37
35
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(4)
(3)
(5)
(8)
(3)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(22)
(30)
(25)
(29)
(32)
Life Sciences (excl. Agric.)
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
1,200
2,000
3,400
3,600
3,600
Percent US
85
81
84
85
88
Percent Foreign
15
19
16
15
12
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(3)
(3)
(4)
(6)
(4)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(12)
(16)
(12)
(9)
(8)
Social Sciences
Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
1,700
2,400
4,600
6,200
5,900
Percent US
88
87
86
86
87
Percent Foreign
12
13
14
14
13
Permanent Residents (immigrants)
(3)
(3)
(5)
(4)
(3)
Temporary Residents (nonimmigrants)
(9)
(10)
(9)
(10)
(10)
Note: Percents calculated from unrounded numbers. Detail may not add to total due to rounding.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation and National Research Council, unpublished tabulations.
OCR for page 130
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 3 Ten Leading Doctorate-Granting Institutions in Foreign Full-Time Graduate Science/Engineering Enrollment, 1979 and 1974
Institution
Rank
Number
Percent Change
1979
1974
1979
1974
1974–79
Total, all institutions
–
–
44,800
31,700
41
Total, leading 10 institutions
–
–
9,170
7,090
29
University of California-Berkeley
1
1
1,239
1,201
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2
2
1,101
881
25
Ohio State University
3
8
1,002
610
64
University of Wisconsin-Madison
4
3
904
750
21
University of Michigan
5
9
874
600
46
University of Illinois-Urbana
6
7
864
686
26
Stanford University
7
4
861
725
19
University of California-Los Angeles
8
13
830
467
78
University of Southern California
9
15
774
451
72
Cornell University
10
5
722
711
2
All other institutions
35,620
24,610
45
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
FIGURE 2 Foreign students as a percentage of total science/engineering postdoctorates in doctorate-grating institutions within fields: 1979.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
OCR for page 131
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 4 Ten Leading Institutions in Foreign Science/Engineering Postdoctorate Employment, 1979
Institution
Rank
Number
Percent Distribution
Total, all institutions
–
6,080
100
Total, leading 10 institutions
1,649
27
Harvard University
1
297
5
University of California-Berkeley
2
189
3
Stanford University
3
171
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4
160
3
University of Wisconsin-Madison
5
158
3
University of California-Los Angeles
6
145
2
University of Southern California
7
143
2
Cornell University
8
139
2
University of California-San Francisco
9
127
2
Yale University
10
120
2
All other institutions
4,430
73
SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
TABLE 5 Number of Employed Science/Engineering Ph.D.s with Foreign Citizenship in the United States in 1981 by Field of Doctorate and Type of Employer
1982 Type of Employer
All Fields
Field of Doctorate
Mathematics
Computer Science
Physics
Chemistry
Engineering
Bioscience
Employed Populationa
N
1,328
107
25
146
187
181
208
V%b
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Educational Institution
N
800
84
13
84
91
57
160
V%
54.5
78.3
43.5
58.7
45.5
24.5
76.2
4-Year College/University/Medical School
N
789
82
13
83
91
57
159
V%
54.0
76.1
43.5
58.6
45.5
24.5
76.0
Business/Industryc
N
391
19
12
47
85
116
26
V%
36.8
18.2
56.5
32.0
51.7
71.6
10.1
U.S. Government
N
22
1
–
3
1
–
4
V%
1.6
0.3
–
2.6
0.9
–
4.1
Other Nonprofit Organization
N
42
3
–
8
4
4
4
V%
2.3
3.2
–
4.8
1.1
1.8
2.5
NOTE: In view of the lack of a comprehensive sampling frame for foreign-earned doctorates in the United States, few additions of segment seven cases have been made to the sample since the 1973 survey. Therefore, the number of science and engineering Ph.D.s who are foreign citizens may be somewhat underestimated.
aIncludes those individuals who were full-time employed, part-time employed, or on postdoctoral appointments.
bV%=Vertical percentage.
cIncludes those self-employed.
SOURCE: 1981 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council.
OCR for page 132
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 6 Number of Employed Science/Engineering Ph.D.s with Foreign Citizenship in the United States in 1981 by Selected Field of Doctorate and Primary Work Activity
Primary Work Activity
All Fieldsa
Field of Doctorate
Mathematics
Computer Science
Physics
Chemistry
Engineering
Bioscience
Totalb
N
1,328
107
25
146
187
181
208
V%c
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Research and Development
N
675
33
14
99
121
99
130
V%
52.8
29.2
62.5
65.1
72.0
58.6
66.9
Basic Research
N
364
21
6
55
62
10
114
V%
24.6
20.2
32.9
35.8
33.7
6.0
59.7
Applied Research
N
226
8
5
25
49
55
13
V%
18.7
6.6
16.3
16.0
32.1
28.4
6.4
Development/Design
N
85
4
3
19
10
34
3
V%
9.4
2.4
14.4
13.4
6.2
24.2
0.8
Management/Administration
N
115
4
4
10
19
20
15
V%
10.3
3.5
8.8
6.3
9.6
12.7
6.7
Management of R&D
N
74
1
4
8
14
17
10
V%
6.7
0.3
8.8
6.1
6.7
12.0
4.9
Teaching
N
375
59
7
30
31
34
41
V%
25.3
54.3
28.7
22.3
10.9
14.5
17.4
Consulting/Professional Services
N
84
7
–
4
3
19
12
V%
6.3
7.5
–
3.9
1.3
11.1
5.0
NOTE: In view of the lack of a comprehensive sampling frame for foreign-earned doctorates in the United States, few additions of segment seven cases have been made to the sample since the 1973 survey. Therefore, the number of science and engineering Ph.D.s who are foreign citizens may be somewhat underestimated.
aThese figures represent more than the totals presented in the table.
bIncludes those individuals who were full-time employed, part-time employed, or on postdoctoral appointments.
cV%=Vertical percentage.
SOURCE: 1981 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council.
nationals in business and industry were heavily represented in the fields of engineering, chemistry, and physics, but were found in other fields as well. Most of those working for the U.S. government were employed in bioscience, physics, or chemistry.
In Table 6 the doctoral fields of foreign national Ph.D.s and their primary work activity are shown. Approximately 53 percent were engaged in R&D, with lesser numbers in R&D management, consulting, or teaching. The heaviest concentration of foreign national Ph.D.s working in R&D was in chemistry, followed closely by bioscience, physics, computer science, and engineering. With the exception of engineering, a larger proportion of the researchers were engaged in basic research than in applied science or development/design.
Table 7 shows foreign national Ph.D.s by type of employer and primary work activity. Here again the majority (52.8 percent, or 678, of those replying to the survey) were engaged in R&D, primarily within educational institutions (45.6 percent, or 356, of those replying) and business/industry (45.5 percent, or 250, of those replying). A majority of the foreign nationals involved in R&D in educational institutions were working in basic research, while those employed by business/industry tended to be in applied research or development/design. The table also reveals that the federal government was
OCR for page 133
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 7 Employed Science/Engineering Ph.D.s with Foreign Citizenship in the United States in 1981 by Selected Type of Employer and Primary Work Activity
Primary Work Activity
Total Employeda
1981 Type of Employer
Educational Institution Total
College/University/MedicalSchool
Business/Industryb
U.S. Government
Other Nonprofit Organization
Totalc
N
1,328
800
789
391
22
42
H%d
100.0
54.0
54.0
36.8
1.6
2.3
V%d
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Research and Development
N
675
356
355
250
16
24
H%
100.0
45.6
45.6
45.5
2.3
2.8
V%
52.8
44.2
44.5
65.2
77.4
64.7
Basic Research
N
364
280
280
37
13
18
H%
100.0
77.1
77.1
11.7
3.9
4.4
V%
24.6
34.9
35.2
7.9
62.1
46.4
Applied Research
N
226
71
70
136
3
5
H%
100.0
26.7
26.6
63.7
1.3
2.1
V%
18.7
9.2
9.2
32.4
15.3
16.8
Development Design
N
85
5
5
77
–
1
H%
100.0
0.8
0.8
97.4
–
0.4
V%
9.4
0.1
0.1
25.0
–
1.4
Management/Administration
N
115
33
33
60
3
9
H%
100.0
31.8
31.8
56.2
2.9
4.3
V%
10.3
6.0
6.0
15.7
19.3
19.1
Management of R&D
N
74
12
12
51
2
6
H%
100.0
10.9
10.9
78.6
4.4
4.6
V%
6.7
1.3
1.3
14.2
18.7
13.3
Consulting/Professional Services
N
84
12
11
48
1
5
H%
100.0
9.6
8.9
71.2
0.5
1.9
V%
6.3
1.1
1.0
12.2
2.1
5.1
NOTE: In view of the lack of a comprehensive sampling frame for foreign-earned doctorates in the United States, few additions of segment seven cases have been made to the sample since the 1973 survey. Therefore, the number of science and engineering Ph.D.s who are foreign citizens may be somewhat underestimated.
aThese figures may represent more than the totals presented in the table.
bIncludes those self-employed.
cIncludes those individuals who were full-time employed, part-time employed, or on postdoctoral appointments.
dH%=Horizontal percentage. V%=Vertical percentage.
SOURCE: 1981 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council.
design. The table also reveals that the federal government was relatively insignificant as an employer of foreign national Ph.D.s, either in R&D or in the management of science and technology.
The data in Tables 8 and 9 provide a very limited indication of the involvement of foreign nationals in some of the sectors of the U.S. economy that are considered vital to U.S. national security—i.e., defense, space, and energy. In Table 8 the individual’s generic area of interest is arrayed against his/her type of employment. Those working in the defense sector accounted for only 2.9 percent (29 of those replying to the survey) of the total foreign national workforce of Ph.D.s. This was similar to the percentage of those employed in space science (2.8 percent of those replying). Within the defense sector, Ph.D.s with foreign citizenship were found exclusively in
OCR for page 134
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 8 Employed Science/Engineering Ph.D.s with Foreign Citizenship in the United States in 1981 by Selected Type of Employer and Area of National Interest
Area of Interest
Total Employeda
1981 Type of Employer
Educational Institution Total
College/University/Medical School
Business/Industryb
U.S. Government
Other Nonprofit Organization
Total Employedc
N
1,328
800
789
391
22
42
H%d
100.0
54.5
54.0
36.8
1.6
2.3
V%d
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Education (Not Teaching)
N
64
53
49
5
1
4
H%
100.0
86.0
80.6
6.2
2.8
4.5
V%
4.3
6.8
6.4
0.7
7.6
8.4
Health
N
273
193
193
37
5
7
H%
100.0
69.0
69.0
16.8
2.8
1.3
V%
16.0
20.3
20.4
7.3
28.7
9.2
Defense
N
29
12
12
17
–
–
H%
100.0
38.3
38.3
61.7
–
–
V%
2.9
2.0
2.0
4.8
–
–
Space
N
33
17
17
10
5
1
H%
100.0
53.6
53.6
31.9
14.2
0.3
V%
2.8
2.7
2.8
2.4
25.4
0.4
Energy or Fuel
N
119
49
49
63
–
4
H%
100.0
36.7
36.7
57.7
–
3.2
V%
12.5
8.4
8.5
19.6
–
17.2
NOTE: In view of the lack of a comprehensive sampling frame for foreign-earned doctorates in the United States, few additions of segment seven cases have been made to the sample since the 1973 survey. Therefore, the number of science and engineering Ph.D.s who are foreign citizens may be somewhat underestimated.
aThese figures may represent more than the totals presented in the table.
bIncludes those self-employed.
cIncludes those individuals who were full-time employed, part-time employed, or on postdoctoral appointments.
dH%=Horizontal percentage. V%=Vertical percentage.
SOURCE: 1981 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council.
educational institutions or business/industry, similar to the pattern in space research. Finally, Table 9 shows that a majority (58.4 percent or 18) of the foreign nationals working in the defense sector were involved in R&D, primarily applied research and development/design. More than one-third were working in educational areas that are related in some way to national defense.
In sum, the data on foreign national Ph.D.s in science and engineering contain few surprises. Within certain fields, foreign citizens do constitute a significant percentage of those engaged in R&D activities in both the university and industrial sectors. At the same time, however, their presence remains inconsequential in generic areas, such as defense, which are directly related to U.S. national security. It is unfortunate that more specific data, indicating country or national origin, remain unavailable, since they would probably reveal that most foreign scientists and engineers are citizens of nonadversary countries. On the basis of the evidence presented here, however, it is apparent that the total number of foreign nationals presently in the United States is significant and, most likely, still increasing.
OCR for page 135
Scientific Communication and National Security
TABLE 9 Employed Science/Engineering Ph.D.s with Foreign Citizenship in the United States in 1981 by Selected Primary Work Activity and Area of National Interest
Area of Interest
Totala
Research and Development
Management
Area Total
Basic Research
Applied Research
Development/Design
Area Total
of R&D
Teaching
Consulting/Professional Services
Total Employedb
N
1,328
675
364
226
85
115
74
375
84
H%c
100.0
52.8
24.6
18.7
9.4
10.3
67
25.3
6.3
V%c
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Education (Not Teaching)
N
64
17
12
3
2
7
1
30
5
H%
100.0
26.6
24.1
1.7
0.9
18.6
1.0
42.9
7.3
V%
4.3
2.2
4.2
0.4
0.4
7.8
0.6
7.3
5.0
Health
N
273
171
126
39
6
23
14
49
19
H%
100.0
68.2
50.4
12.5
5.3
7.5
5.3
15.6
5.9
V%
16.0
20.7
32.7
10.7
9.0
11.8
12.9
9.8
15.1
Defense
N
29
18
3
10
5
1
1
8
2
H%
100.0
58.4
6.9
24.4
27.1
1.3
1.3
36.0
4.3
V%
2.9
3.2
0.8
3.8
8.3
0.4
0.6
4.1
2.0
Space
N
33
27
17
7
3
2
2
4
–
H%
100.0
85.7
47.8
21.0
16.9
8.2
8.2
6.1
–
V%
2.8
4.5
5.4
3.1
5.0
2.2
3.4
0.7
–
Energy or Fuel
N
119
75
22
38
15
6
6
25
10
H%
100.0
56.6
11.7
24.0
20.9
6.6
6.6
22.7
12.6
V%
12.5
13.4
5.9
16.0
27.7
8.0
12.4
11.2
24.9
NOTE: In view of the lack of a comprehensive sampling frame for foreign-earned doctorates in the United States, few additions of segment seven cases have been made to the sample since the 1973 survey. Therefore, the number of science and engineering Ph.D.s who are foreign citizens may be somewhat underestimated.
aThese figures may represent more than the totals presented in the table.
bIncludes those individuals who were full-time employed, part-time employed, or on postdoctoral appointments.
cH%=Horizontal percentage. V%=Vertical percentage.
SOURCE: 1981 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
foreign citizenship
Items in cart [0]
