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New Mexico State University Graduation Trends Show School's Global Reach

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 00:00 CST

By Dolores M. Bernal, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.

Dec. 5--Many engineering department graduate students who will be receiving their degrees this fall at New Mexico State University are indicative of the school's broad global reach.

Foreign students who attend NMSU tend to pursue majors in science and engineering, said Mary Jaspers of the Office of International Programs.

"The largest number of them are from India, Mexico and China," Jaspers said.

"They tend to major in engineering, computer science and the physical sciences." There are 228 foreign undergraduate and 527 foreign graduate students at NMSU. A total of 178 graduate students are enrolled in programs at the College of Engineering, while others are enrolled in computer science, business programs and in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

Foreign students say they are attracted to NMSU's academics and the availability of financial aid.

Srikanth Damarla is a graduate student from India studying electrical engineering.

"My brother's friend studied (at NMSU) before I came here," he said. "I like it because it's very quiet and we can study. My department is also very good." Another electrical engineering graduate student from India, Neeraja Veeramachaneni, agreed.

"This is a good university. My department has a good ranking and there is a lot of research going on here," she said. "There are also a lot of assistantships that are offered that help to pay for school." Foreign students, like Damarla and Veeramachaneni, are not given admission preference over American residents, NMSU officials said. They are required to have student visas to study in the United States, and like American students, must fulfill all academic requirements for admission.

"There aren't enough spots at their universities (back in their countries)," said Dr. Steven Castillo, NMSU dean of the College of Engineering. "A lot of students want to get into those programs, so they come here to get their education." For 20 years, NMSU along with the rest of the nation's colleges and universities have experienced an increase in the number of foreign-born students who enroll in master's and doctorate programs in science and engineering. But according to a recent national report, since 9-11, fewer foreign students are choosing American schools.

In the past three years, 10,487 foreign students have left American universities, with a remaining total of 572,509, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That concerns Castillo, who says not enough American students are entering graduate programs in fields like engineering to compensate for the loss of foreign students.

"We've already started to see a shortage of engineers in this country," said Castillo. "Baby boomers are starting to retire and there aren't enough people to fill up those positions." What is worse, said Castillo, is that many foreign students who are graduating are not staying in the country to work as they have in the past, but are returning to their countries to fill jobs there. Darmala is one of them.

"I plan to work here for a few years and then I plan to return to my country," he said.

Dr. Sheila Horan is an engineering professor at NMSU who also is in charge of New Mexico BEST -- Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology, a robotic competition that gives middle and high school students the chance to apply their math, science, physics and engineering skills.

Horan believes that much more needs to be done to encourage American undergraduate students interested in engineering to stay in such programs.

"If we put the same excitement in math as we do in football, more students will get into it," said Horan. "We have to prepare students in general, but we need to do more in teaching them the sciences and math." Castillo agreed.

"We need to invest in our K-to-12 programs to be able to retain students and prepare them for a rigorous engineering program in college," he said.

Recruiting more women to engineering is another goal.

"Eighty percent of students in engineering are still male," said Michael Gibbons a director at the American Society of Engineering Education in Washington, D.C.

Gibbons calls women "the last untapped resource" when it comes to filling jobs in engineering.

"There is a lot of interest from universities, associations and companies to help increase the number of women in this field," he said. "But I agree that (student) motivation is also a factor." Many believe that American private industry also needs to play a larger role in making science and engineering more appealing to all young people if it wants to remain competitive in the world.

"Back in the '50s the Soviets launched Sputnik and then in the '60s we had the Apollo, now we don't have anything that captures the imagination of our young people. It's not interesting to them." Castillo said. "We need to do more."

AT A GLANCE

Breakdown of graduates students enrolled in NMSU's College of Engineering:

57 -- White (non-Hispanic)

57 -- Hispanics

4 -- Blacks

6 -- Asian Pacific

57 -- Mixed races

178 -- Non-citizens/international

Source: NMSU College of Engineering

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Source: Las Cruces Sun-News

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