Foreign class
Some 82,900 foreign scholars were in teaching or research at US higher education institutions in the 2003-04 academic year. Most were engaged in research, although the share in teaching has increased. Two-thirds are engaged in scientific or engineering fields, with a fast-growing proportion in life and biological sciences.
Just 20 countries account for 80% of foreign scholars in the US. Almost half were from a non-OECD country and a quarter came from the EU. China was the first country of origin and Asia the first region. Around 18% of non-US scholars were Chinese, around 8% were Korean or Indian and more than 6% were Japanese. Among European countries, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain each provided between 2% and 6% of foreign academic staff. In addition, Canada and Russia accounted for 5% and almost 3% of the total, respectively.
A large number of Asian academics already worked in US universities in the mid-1990s, but the rate of academic mobility has grown. For every 100 scholars working at home in most OECD countries, there are at least two holding positions in US universities. But such academic mobility is higher from Korea (13%), Russia (8%) and Chinese Taipei (6%). In contrast, mobility from European countries has slowed. In 2003/04 female academics accounted for a third of foreign scholars in the US.
OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2006
ISBN 926402848X
OECD Observer N° 258/259, December 2006
Where are we in the current economic crisis?
- Women in work: The Norwegian experience
- Clinical trials for better health policies
- Policy can brighten the economic outlook
- Information society: Which way now?
- Asia’s Challenges
- Study abroad
- The EU fish discard ban: Where’s the catch?
- Homo Economicus: An uncertain guide
- Knowledge is growth
- “Made in the world”
