Abortion rights protesters outside the US Capitol in July 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that upheld a constitutional right to abortion. Credit: Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post/Getty
For the past five decades, the United States has been a top destination for early career international researchers to pursue their training in a PhD or postdoctoral position. Since the 1960s, US post-Cold War diplomatic policy has aimed to attract foreign researchers, especially those in then-emerging democracies (M. O’Mara Soc. Sci. Hist. 36, 583-615; 2012). After a steady increase, the number peaked in 2016, when more than one million students – undergraduate and graduate – enrolled to study in the United States. The number of international students then began to slowly decline: The number of graduate students fell 1.3% to 377,943 in 2018, according to the Institute of International Education, a non-profit student exchange organization based in New York City. During the 2020-21 academic year, the first of the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers fell by 12.1% to 329,272 graduate students. In the same year, the number of international researchers in the US (specifically postdocs and visiting researchers) fell by 31%, from 123,508 to 85,528.
It is unclear whether these numbers will recover or how long it might take. In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that the number of F-1 international student visas issued to Chinese students, who make up the overwhelming majority of people who come to attend American universities, had dropped by more than 50 % in the first 6 months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. Additionally, a September 2021 U.S.-China Perception Monitor poll found that 62% of Chinese respondents had a view of the U.S. that was either “very unfavorable” or “unfavorable”.
Universities in countries such as Australia and Canada, which increasingly rely on tuition fees for foreign students, also saw COVID-19-related declines in international student numbers in 2020. Australia has struggled to re-establish a pipeline for international students after its strict COVID-19 border closure. And although the number of study permit holders in Canada increased to more than 750,000 international students for the 2022-23 academic year, applicants from Africa have complained of long visa application delays. Last month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stated that more needs to be done to eradicate internal racism against African applicants.
Laboratory managers struggle with shortage of postdocs
Laboratory managers struggle with shortage of postdocs
The reasons for international students’ career decisions are undoubtedly complex. In the case of the United States, some prospective students have lingering concerns about COVID-19. The high cost of living is a key concern for non-citizens, with the median rent for the 50 largest metropolitan areas hitting a record high of $1,879 a month in July. Many universities require international students to have health insurance, which can be expensive: for example, a graduate student health insurance plan at the University of California, Berkeley costs $3,186 per student. semester for the academic year 2022-23. But not all institutions offer insurance subsidies. Other factors include rising tensions as US politics become increasingly divisive, a process that accelerated under Donald Trump’s presidency. The US FBI’s crime database documented 11,126 victims of hate crimes in 2020 – the highest number since 2008 – with 82% of these crimes motivated by race or sexual orientation. According to the non-profit organization Stop AAPI Hate, more than 11,400 hate incidents against members of Asian communities have been recorded since 2020.
Nature spoke with five researchers who shared their thoughts on why they have chosen not to pursue positions in the United States. The reasons ranged from legislative decisions blocking a woman’s right to an abortion in many states, the frequency of mass shooting events (586 so far in 2022), the high cost of insurance-based health care, persistent racism, and the rise of hate. – criminal violence, spurred by the rise of COVID-19 in Asia and divisive culture wars.
DUNCAN NG: The opposite of foreigner-friendly
Postdoctoral microbiome researcher at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, UK. See the article : 2022-23 CBS Sports College Basketball Preseason Awards: Our Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
The US has always been off the table for me. My biggest concerns are the cost and availability of health care, gun violence, and the rise of white supremacy. My impression is that people on the right of the political spectrum have taken the position that COVID-19 was ’caused by China’, which in turn gives them the ‘right’ to punish anyone they associate with the country. My biggest concern is how white supremacists can actively provoke or harass people, with little or no consequences. As someone who is not white, being in one of the right-wing American states would not appeal to me.
I grew up in East Malaysia and then did my Bachelors and Masters degrees at the University of Glasgow, UK before moving to Denmark to get my PhD in Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen. I am now in the middle of a two-year postdoctoral contract in the UK.
As a Malaysian, immigration status is another concern. As far as I know, other than winning one of the few immigrant visas distributed through a lottery system, there is no easy way, as a student or postdoc, to become a US resident. And if any friends or family wanted to visit, they would have to go through a lengthy US visa application process. [Editor’s note: The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program grants up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually.] In most European countries, you apply for residency and then move on once approved.
There are other aspects of daily life to consider. Right now I’m in a relationship with a British national who lives in Ipswich, just a 40 minute train ride away. The most important thing to consider when moving to a new country is how much money you will need to survive there. In England, for example, I can take public transport or cycle everywhere I need to go. In many American cities, I would need a car, which adds considerable cost.
High US health care costs and uncertainty surrounding LGBTQ rights soured Jennifer Colbourne’s view of an American post.Credit: Thomas Suchanek
JENNIFER COLBOURNE: Will there be adequate health care and queer rights?
PhD candidate in animal behavior and cognition at the Messerli Research Institute in Vienna. See the article : The likelihood of a 2023 recession in the United States and Europe continues to rise.
After I finished my Masters at York University in Toronto in my native Canada, there weren’t many PhD opportunities here in my narrow field, so I had to choose where to move abroad. I already felt uncomfortable with the US because of the lax gun laws, but I also have health issues to consider. I knew that universities offer insurance, but I was concerned that it might not adequately cover my needs.
In late 2017, there was a period when a US Republican Party’s plan to update taxes included a provision for heavily taxing tuition waivers for graduate students. That part of the plan was eventually dropped, but I realized that things can change very quickly in the US. I wouldn’t risk going to a country where I could be destitute – either because of health care costs or because of a rapidly changing tax environment.
Now I am in Europe doing my PhD. in Austria and I am paid about €30,000 (US$29,800) a year, including five weeks of paid vacation. I also receive a pension and the health care, which is largely publicly funded, is wonderful. I have no complaints. Now I have one year left and am looking for postdoctoral positions. It hasn’t even crossed my mind to apply for US funding. One of the main reasons is that it’s not a good place for people like me who identify as queer. From the transphobic laws to protests against drag queens to the horrific shooting that left 49 people dead at gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, the United States seems to be a place where it’s dangerous to present as anything else than cisgender and straight.
In July of this year, I went to the Animal Behavior Society conference in Costa Rica, which I found to be very LGBTQ-friendly. The organization had planned to hold its meeting in 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. But I was one of the more than 50% of community members who voted not to attend if it was held in a state that passed anti-transgender laws — banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports or denying transgender students admission to use the bathrooms consistent with their gender identity — and limits a woman’s right to an abortion, such as Tennessee. I wouldn’t feel comfortable spending money there or walking the streets. The society subsequently rescheduled the 2023 meeting to be held in Portland, Oregon.
UMAR AHMAD: Visa woes and questioning whether Black Lives Matter
Cancer researcher at Bauchi State University in Gadau, Nigeria. See the article : Good Shepherd Food Bank ready to launch a new venture.
I got my PhD at University Putra Malaysia in Serdang in 2020 for a project to develop a targeted treatment for bladder cancer. After that I returned to my native Nigeria. I currently head the anatomy department at Bauchi State University where I am passionate about genomics, bioinformatics and open science. Both the US and Canada have top-ranked institutions and researchers in these fields, and I have applied for postdoctoral positions in both countries.
I have a preference for Canada, based in part on advice I’ve received from colleagues. Both postdocs and principal investigators recommended that I go there because, they say, a visa to do a postdoc in the US is very problematic to get. [Editor’s note: International postdocs in the US typically use study-based-visitor (J-1) or specialty-occupation (H-1B) visas.] Even if you get a visa, it can be challenging to renew. And I was told that these US visas cannot easily be used to apply for citizenship without a permanent position. In Canada, however, a visa can count towards permanent residence.
The other major concern is gun violence, which appears to have increased in the United States. It’s scary – especially considering that black populations in the US are being targeted by the police.
I find it also takes a long time to get a visa to Canada especially for Nigerians. I was offered a cancer bioinformatics postdoc position at Memorial University in St John’s and so far I have been waiting 11 months for my visa to be approved. I just want to find the best place to do my science.
Tanadet Pipatpolkai says US security concerns and the high cost of living kept him from studying there. Credit: Tanadet Pipatpolkai/Thanakorn Lerkpichayayotin
Tanadet Pipatpolkai says US security concerns and the high cost of living kept him from studying there. Credit: Tanadet Pipatpolkai/Thanakorn Lerkpichayayotin
TANADET PIPATPOLKAI: Pursuing research has to be safe and affordable
Postdoc in molecular biophysics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
In 2020, when I finished my PhD at the University of Oxford, UK, studying ion channels, membrane transport and disease, I did not really consider applying for positions in the US for a number of reasons. Firstly, Europe is geographically closer to Thailand, which makes it not as difficult for me to get home as it would have been if I had moved across the Atlantic.
I spent a few days at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, doing PhD interviews in 2017. Although it looked like a fun and inspiring place, I experienced a sudden, strange, uneasy feeling, especially when students mentioned, that it was best not to live too far from campus for safety reasons. The university provided a shuttle bus to take you from student housing to the university, but I preferred to live somewhere where you can walk at night without the worry or expense of a taxi. My other concern was healthcare costs, because students and postdocs in the US typically get minimum levels of insurance coverage. In the UK and Scandinavia I have only had to pay minimal supplements for any health problem.
I started my postdoc last October. Next year, ideally, I plan to start looking for assistant professor positions, but if I can’t find anything, I’ll look for another postdoc. Earlier this year, after attending the Biophysical Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, California, I thought about applying to universities in that state because the weather is great and it seemed like a good fit. But the rent sounds horrendous and ill-suited to a postdoc’s salary. I also found the level of homelessness there disturbing. I have also considered applying to labs in Ithaca, New York, as well as in Chicago, Illinois and St Louis, Missouri, large cities with notable gun violence. Given news stories of hate crimes against Asians, my family and I agree that safety is the biggest factor to consider.
I think back to the early twentieth century, when people who did science did so with their own money and out of sheer curiosity or their love (or madness) for the subject. I think we’re going back to science being essentially a hobby pursued by people who can afford to do research. But even if you do science as a hobby, you won’t have to worry about health care or childcare costs. In many European countries these things are often provided or subsidized, they are on the table for you.
ASHLEIGH BARRETT-YOUNG: Finding US politics and society too extreme
Postdoctoral researcher in psychology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
When I finished my PhD at the University of Otago in 2021, I was thinking of looking for a postdoc outside of New Zealand. But to be honest, I didn’t even consider the US.
One of the biggest concerns for me because I have a family to consider is gun violence. I realize we only see a certain media representation, but every time the US is in the news it seems like it’s because of mass shootings. It’s confusing for me coming from New Zealand. We banned semi-automatic weapons and engineered a buyback program in 2019 after a mass shooting in Christchurch. I have very rarely seen a person carry a gun and I feel like it would be a huge culture shock.
More international students came to US universities – then COVID hit
More international students came to US universities – then COVID hit
Other political events are equally disturbing. The June 2022 US Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and a national right to abortion is terrifying to watch, as is the rollback of transgender rights. As someone who leans to the left politically, I find that the American left parties are still quite conservative in their social policies compared to New Zealand and the rest of the world – although I was glad to see that the administration of President Joe Biden is moving towards open access to science and forgiveness of student loan debt.
Most of the postgraduates in New Zealand who go abroad go to Australia, the UK or EU countries. I don’t have a view that the US is considered a more desirable place to study, nor do I think others here would buy into the idea of ’American exceptionalism’. I would consider going to a US-based conference, but I haven’t traveled much in recent years due to the pandemic. I was uneasy watching the American pandemic response from the sidelines. It wasn’t just the lack of measures to address the pandemic, it was the complete failure to follow the science. We had people in New Zealand protesting vaccine mandates or wearing masks, but they were clearly in the minority. Yet the reaction of American society – ‘my personal inconvenience is more important than your health’ – was horrifying.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
If you are not successful in being awarded a PhD, an MPhil may be awarded instead. For this to happen, your work must be considered worthy of an MPhil, as even though it is a master’s degree, it is still an advanced postgraduate research degree.
Can a PhD student fail?
Getting a doctorate can be one of your greatest life achievements – provided you can reach the finish line. Dropout rates vary by discipline, but as many as 50 percent of students do not complete their doctorate.
Can a PhD student be dismissed? Academic probation is usually required before a program can recommend that a PhD student be dismissed for academic reasons. As an exception, and only with prior notice to the students.
What happens if I fail a PhD course?
If you fail the PhD-qualifying exam, most schools will allow you another attempt to pass it. They might only do it a certain number of times a year, so it might be six months to a year later. But you can get another shot at it.
Is it possible to fail a PhD defense?
If the defense is found unacceptable, the committee must decide whether the student should have the opportunity to repeat the defense or whether the student will not pass (in this case the student will not be awarded the degree and must discontinue).
Is a PhD harder than a doctorate?
For those asking, “Is a PhD higher than a doctorate?” the answer is simple: no. A Ph.D. is within the doctoral category, so one is not better than the other.
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Is a PhD worth it in 2022?
For students ready to turn an intellectual passion into a lifelong intellectual pursuit, advancing from a master’s to a PhD from an accredited institution is worthwhile for many students. In fact, you might even consider an online PhD program.
What is the best age to do a Ph.D. The best age to get a Ph.D. is three years ago. The next best time is now. In reality, the best age to get a PhD is when you are able to complete it. The earlier you finish your PhD, the more life and career you will have with it, but there is no optimal age.
Is a PhD worth it anymore?
A Ph.D. can hurt your finances, sink you into debt, and leave you with no clear path to success in some areas. But PhDs statistically earn more than theirs and have lower unemployment. A PhD also gives you a world-class mind, a global network and a skill set that can go pretty much anywhere.
Is there a point in getting a PhD?
You can become an expert in the field. Earning your doctorate means you have expert-level knowledge in your chosen field. You should get a Ph.D. because you are passionate about a particular topic and are ready to exponentially expand your understanding of that topic through research.
Do people drop out of PHDS?
This month’s PhD profile is a little different from the others in the series. This time we hear from someone who has made the decision to drop their PhD program and finish their Ph.D. No one goes into a Ph.D. and do not expect to finish it, but every year some students will make the decision to drop out.
