International students shoot Grad video for YouTube

The Graduate School was delighted to play host last week to Sophia and Miranda, visiting the University of North Dakota on a summer exchange program from Shanghai. While they’re at UND, they are shooting a short video about the graduate programs and advice for international students who are considering UND for graduate school. We were happy to help out with talent (Evan) and video (Susan) to help their shoot. Here are a couple of photos from the fun morning we spent with the students. Hopefully, there will be a video in the not-too-distant future!

And....action!

Highlighting great gathering and study spaces

Share your best winter tips for our new students

Graduate students at UND come from places far afield including every state in US and over 40 countries. Each year, we have questions from students who ask about our winters and the best places to find clothing, tips for traveling and getting around town. We decided to put together a “Winter Survival Guide” for newcomers. On this web site, students can learn more about the challenges and opportunities for living in our region.

Yes, winters are cold, but this also provides some “You can’t do THAT in California!” moments, too. Public ice skating, cross-country skiing, building snowmen…you get the idea. We have also provided some winter weather health and safety tips, as well as places to consult in case of a winter storm.

We would like to hear from you, too. Do you have a great winter tip? Leave a comment and we’ll add it to our Winter Survival Guide web site.

International student body

Figures were released recently from our Office of International Programs showing the statistics of our international academic community on campus – that is our undergraduate, graduate and scholars/faculty – the great news is that UND is showing record numbers. For The Graduate School, international students make up approximately 10% of our student body. I thought it would be interesting to compare the data provided for our on-campus students with our web site metrics and inquiry data. Call it “gazing into the proverbial crystal ball” to see from where our future international students might come.

According to the report from OIP, the top 10 countries which send graduate students to UND include India, Canada, China, Cameroon, Nepal, Iran, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ukraine. When I compare this list against the top 10 countries that visit our web site, it shows a very similar picture – with the exception of Japan and Saudi Arabia over South Korea and Sri Lanka which appear as a very close 13th and 14th on our list.

It is quite a different view, however, when we analyze our inquiry data – that is, countries from where students are inquiring about our graduate programs . China, India and Canada remain as the big three. But others include Pakistan, Indonesia, Chile, Nigeria,Vietnam, Ghana and Hong Kong. It will be interesting to review our international student body in the Spring and next Fall. Will we see new countries at the top of that list, and as a result, a shift in our international makeup?

UND Grad School Sees Increase in International Students

Every year The Graduate School submits survey data to the Council of Graduate Schools looking at the number of international students who attend the University of North Dakota.   This year despite the national trend UND International Grad Students are up.   In fact more and more international students are applying to UND from all over the world.  74 Nations are represented.   Our top ten are India, China, Canada, Nepal, Cameroon, Iran and Nigeria.   These students add not only to the diversity of our campus in terms of academics but also bring life and color to our university in culture and values. Different faces, different ideas, different worlds.  That is what a great university is about.

An English class, with students from around the world, visits with Salman Rushdie