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The article examines reasons for which colleges in the U.S. are rushing to open degree programs overseas. In 2003, the State University of New York at Buffalo, opened a branch campus in Singapore, where 250 students are enrolled in bachelor's and master's programs in business and communications. Last month the university signed an agreement with an institution in Bangalore, India, to run two master's programs in information technology there. While a few American institutions have maintained small overseas campuses for decades, often as study-abroad locations for their students back home, the growth of overseas programs for foreign students has taken off only in the past decade. Foreign branch campuses also provide trouble-free destinations for American students. The Georgia Institute of Technology, which has degree programs in France and Singapore and one opening this fall in China, is discussing possible programs with authorities in two Indian states.

The article discusses the one percent increase in foreign students at U.S. graduate schools, reversing a three year trend of declining representation, according to a Council of Graduate Schools survey. Student visas were restricted following the 2001 terrorist attacks; those restrictions have been revised to help students seeking admittance to American schools. The majority of foreign graduate students in the U.S. are from China or India and are found mostly in science and engineering programs.