UCSF's Global Status Attracts Foreign Students and Scholars

UCSF's ninth-place ranking in Newsweek International's list of the top 100 global universities is based on a number of different measures. One of the most important is also one of the most obvious. No university can lay claim to global status unless students and scholars from other countries choose to study there. While on a comparative basis with institutions such as Stanford or UC Berkeley, UCSF's total number of foreign students and scholars in 2006 is not huge - 1,403 - the UCSF delegation exerts a huge impact on the international flavor of the campus. Indeed, some basic science laboratories at UCSF operate as a mini-United Nations, with postdocs and graduate students passing through from Peru and Pakistan, Jordan and Japan. This is not to mention professionals from other countries who come to UCSF for short periods of training. Recently, for example, two Fogarty Fellows from the University of Zimbabwe School of Pharmacy, Luther Gwaza and Tsitsi Monera, arrived at UCSF to learn in vitro methods used in the evaluation of herbal drug interactions. At the same time, the School of Dentistry's Center for Craniofacial Anomalies is hosting a surgeon from Jiujiang University, Xiaolin Huang, who will be training with UCSF's multidisciplinary craniofacial team. The international flow to and from UCSF is nothing new, of course. But it has intensified in the last 20 years. In 1986, the total number of foreign students and scholars was 797, representing 54 countries. Granted, the breakup of the Soviet Union added to the total number of countries possible (Kazakhstan being just one example). Still, the 2006 list totals 78 countries, a nearly 40 percent increase. The top UCSF-bound countries have changed order, as well. Two decades ago, Japan led the list with 84, followed by China with 73, Canada with 62, Taiwan with 56 and the United Kingdom with 54. Today, China leads with 224, followed by Germany with 131, Canada with 108, Japan with 107 and India, far down the list 20 years ago, now in fifth place with 94. Excel Version of table of international students & scholars Related Links: "UCSF Ranked Ninth Among Top Global Universities" UCSF Today, August 23, 2006 "The Complete List: The Top 100 Global Universities" Newsweek International Edition, August 2006