It seems America is an attractive place for those with PhDs. The majority of foreign students who graduate with science doctorates stay in America, new data show.

Following a toughening of regulations post-9/11, 2005 data showed that the number of science and engineering PhD holders staying in the United States two years after graduation had dropped off. Now, a follow up with 2007 data has found that the stay rate after two years appears to have recovered.

“There were signs that this was probably a temporary phenomenon, but it was impossible to be sure,” says Michael Finn, a researcher at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, who wrote both studies. “…The data for all available cohorts indicate that stay rates of foreign [science and engineering] doctorate recipients in 2007 are slightly higher than they have been in previous years.”

However, these figures don’t reflect the recent financial crisis and its impact on the US job market. Vivek Wadwha, of Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, warned the Wall Street Journal that recent graduates are increasingly likely to return home.

“I have no doubt that the 2009 data will show a dramatic shift,” Wadwha says.

Finn’s research looks at four different ‘stay rates’: the number of those with US-awarded PhDs who are still in the country one year later, two years later, five years later, and ten years later. His previous study of 2005 numbers found the two-year rate had dropped. This rate has now recovered, although the five-year rate is also now below its previous high, as the dip passes on.

In 2007, 73% of those who graduated in 2006 remained in the US, along with 67% of 2005 graduates, 62% of 2002 graduates, and 60% of 1997 graduates. All these figures are up on the average stay rate between 2000 and 2005, except the five-year stay rate, which is the same.

Percentage of foreign students receiving science or engineering PhDs still in the US two years after graduation.

Image: Oak Ridge Associated Universities.