The report, which appeared in the April 3 issue of Science, noted that more than half of all engineering doctorates awarded by U.S. institutions since 1981 have gone to foreign-born students as the number of U.S. applicants to graduate engineering departments has declined. Authors Elinor Barber, of the Institute of International Education in New York, and Robert Morgan, of Washington University in St. Louis, conclude that "it may be desirable for universities, for broader policy reasons," to encourage qualified U.S. citizens to enroll and, thus, reduce their dependence on foreign-born students. The authors received responses from 441 chairs of graduate programs in chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering and 943 faculty members.
The survey revealed a clear preference for U.S. citizens. Given students of equal quality, 87 percent preferred an American; even if the foreign students "had slightly better qualffications," the American was chosen by a better than 2-to-1 ratio.
...
