Universities worry over fall in graduate student numbers

Until recently, graduate students remained a bright spot in United States higher education, continuing to show up at colleges and universities and helping institutions balance their books even as undergraduate enrolment declined, but even before the pandemic, there were signs of a slowdown. Now, when that money may be needed most, university leaders and researchers fear that these numbers could plummet, writes Matt Krupnick for The Hechinger Report.

That can only worsen the predicted financial crunch for colleges and universities, as fewer undergraduates are expected on campus this fall, and institutions face budget cuts and endowment losses.

The biggest question is whether students from abroad will risk coming to the United States. While that’s a problem at all levels of higher education, it has much more of an impact on graduate programmes, where international students make up 13% of the enrolment, compared to less than 3% of undergrads.
Full report on The Hechinger Report site