International students at Australian universities make up nearly half of all master’s enrolments and one-third of doctoral candidates, making the country’s higher-degree programs disproportionately dependent on the foreign market.<\/p>\n
International students make up 21% of all tertiary enrolments in Australia, compared to an average of 6 per cent in other countries, according to the OECD’s latest annual report comparing educational outcomes around the world.<\/p>\n
Foreign students make up 14% of all enrolments in bachelor’s degrees at Australian universities but represent 48 per cent of all master’s students and 32% of doctoral candidates, which experts say will lead to a brain drain when these students return to their home countries.<\/p>\n
“Currently, Australian universities depend on international students for their survival of higher-degree programs,” said Jihyun Lee, an associate professor at UNSW.<\/p>\n
“While the Australian government provides up to four years of post-degree stay for international students, it is inevitable that Australia faces a drain of highly educated specialists.”<\/p>\n
The chief executive of peak body Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, said the proportion of international students enrolled in Australian “higher-degree programs is comparable to other popular study destinations, like the United Kingdom”.<\/p>\n
\u201cInternational higher-degree students are a fundamental part of our growing international research collaborations with benefits for the nation and for our economy. And once they graduate, they form a global knowledge network who are very important for Australia\u2019s connections worldwide,” Ms Jackson said.<\/p>\n
Overall, Australia “takes in 10% of all the international or foreign tertiary students in OECD member countries, one of the largest shares across OECD countries”, says the OECD report.<\/p>\n
The report also shows that domestic students in Australia are less likely to hold a master’s or doctoral degree than those in other countries.<\/p>\n
About 51 per cent of Australians aged between 25 and 34 hold a tertiary degree, compared to the OECD average of 44%, but only 10% have studied beyond a bachelor’s degree, compared to an OECD average of 15%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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