International doctoral students now outnumber locals

ByLukas Baschung. During the past 20 years the number of doctoral students in Swiss universities has almost doubled, from 11,588 in 1992 to 22,716 last year. An important factor in this spectacular growth has been the attraction of a steadily growing cohort of foreign PhD students. Indeed, while they comprised about a fourth of all doctoral candidates in 1992, for the last two years international PhD students have been in the majority. Data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office indicates that foreigners comprised nearly 52% of all PhD students in 2012. Read more...