Guidelines for International Students Applying for
Ph.D. Admissions in US Universities

By

( Profile: Suresh Babu is a senior research fellow and senior advisor at the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C. where he conducts research, outreach and capacity strengthening activities in the areas of global food and nutrition security. Dr. Babu was educated at Agricultural Universities in Tamil Nadu, India (B.S. Agriculture; M.S. Agriculture) and at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (M.S. Economics and PhD Economics). Before joining IFPRI in 1992 as a Research Fellow, Dr. Babu was a Research Economist at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

Suresh Babu has conducted development research for bilateral and international organizations including the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the World Bank, UNCTAD, UNICEF, GTZ, and USAID. Dr. Babu has authored or co-authored more than 50 referred journal papers and book chapters and has been the recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award (2000) and the Premium for Academic Excellence (PACE) Award (1984) both from the Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. He is an Associate Editor of United Nations University's Food and Nutrition Bulletin and the African Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences. )

International students worldwide are looking to pursue their studies, particularly in graduate programs in US universities. This is mainly due to the quality of US education, which is much higher and has more value in their home countries in terms of finding employment. Yet, finding the right place and the right school for the discipline in which these students are interested can be a daunting task. Although there are US educational services that function as part of US embassies in many countries and are effective in providing guidance to international students, it may be useful to understand some of the basic factors that determine the success of applicants aspiring for admission to Ph.D. programs in the US. The following is a set of guidelines for the preparation and successful admission to US Ph.D. (Doctoral) programs.

Studying in the USA for students from developing countries becomes important for two reasons: 1) there may not be adequate opportunities to pursue graduate studies in their field of interest; 2) the nature of the program in their country may not be of high quality and hence may not be useful for finding the right career opportunity. In addition, students are also interested in pursuing research activities that are cutting edge and on the frontier of the subject area they are studying. US universities provide opportunities for such cutting edge research, particularly for those who have research aptitude. Most students, at least highly qualified students, will have an opportunity for getting some form of assistantship or fellowship, which would provide financial support while undergoing the graduate program. For all of these reasons the US higher education system is highly preferred and opted for by students from developing countries.

There are several factors that determine the successful admission and assistantship for graduate programs in US universities. The basic requirement for applying to graduate programs for non-English speaking students is the TOEFL exam. Students are required to score over 600 points to prove competency in English. The other general examination is the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which determines the student's ability to comprehend English and basic quantitative skills. In addition, departments of higher education may require a specific GRE in specialty subjects for students applying to Ph.D. programs.

Students applying to doctorate programs, in addition to taking these examinations and proving that they are qualified as potential graduate students, should also show their interest and aptitude for research. This process is one of the major determining factors for students applying to PhD (doctoral) programs in obtaining scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships. While this process may take 2-3 years, it is important that Ph.D. applicants start three years in advance to develop research skills and to establish their record as a budding researcher. A professor attempting to hire a research assistant, for example, will look for some kind of publications based on research by the student. One way to provide this is to start writing articles in their own country magazines relating to the subjects in which they plan to apply for PhD. For example, a student applying to a civil engineering Ph.D. program would start writing about the construction of major bridges and the challenges and difficulties faced in his/her own country in the local magazine. This kind of aptitude for writing based on what is observed and correlated will be seen as an indicator for aptitude for research.

Students who have obtained a masters degree in their own countries and have written a thesis or project paper should definitely aim for converting that paper or thesis into a journal article for publication, at least locally within their own countries. For example, a student who has a Masters or Mphil degree in economics would convert the thesis and publish in a local magazine discussing issues related to economic affairs of the country. An accumulation of 3-4 articles of this nature would definitely help in grabbing the attention of professors looking for students with research aptitude. In addition, among the thousands of applications received by US universities and departments, the applications containing a few publications, even local journals or magazines, would attract the attention of reviewers and graduate professors in US universities.

Preparing journal articles and writing in magazines will require the support of the professors with whom the students have undertaken their Masters research in their own countries. Successful Ph.D. students coming from, for example, India to US universities have shown aptitude for research by demonstrating publications in their own fields. By the time Prof. Chandrasekar, who has a ? laureate in Physics and was Professor of Physics in Chicago came to the US to pursue his graduate studies he already had several publications to his credit.

Good scores in TOEFL and GRE will help in obtaining admission but adding a dimension of research aptitude to the portfolio of accomplishments and will definitely help in gaining admission and fellowship in a school of choice.