Thanks for visiting TopUniversities.com today! So that we can show you the most relevant information, please select the option that most closely relates to you.
Your input will help us improve your experience.
Your input will help us improve your experience.You can close this popup to continue using the website or choose an option below to register in or login.
Already have an account? Sign in
Sign up for free to continue reading.
Ask me about universities, programs, or rankings!
Our chatbot is here to guide you.
We use Necessary cookies to make our website work. We’d also like to set optional Functional cookies to gather anonymous site visitation data and Advertising cookies to help us understand which content our visitors value the most. By enabling these cookies, you can help us provide a better website for you. These will be set only if you accept.More information about the cookies we use can be found here Cookies Policy
Views
Why Indian Students Are Choosing to Study Abroad
Staff Writer
Updated May 15, 2020Save
Share
Share via
Share this Page12
Table of contents
Table of contents
By Josephine West
Indian students are choosing to apply for universities abroad due to concerns about the level of academic freedom in their own country, according to a new QS report.
The report, which is available to download here, shows numerous prospective Indian students feel that studying internationally will allow them to benefit from greater academic freedom in their subject area than they can access at home.
Ram Mohan, in Hyderabad, said: “There’s not as much academic freedom [in India] as there is outside, although there are similar topics, there’s not much freedom as to the choice of your research. I think research freedom is the most important aspect of a university.”
This view is shared by Pritha, in Chennai, who is looking to study a robotics master’s in the US. She said: “The marking system in India has some limitations and it doesn’t allow students to think outside the box. I’m interested in a particular area of robotics, but if I study here, I will be pushed to do something else. In the US we don’t have such limitations.”
For Indian students, academic freedom means access to modern teaching methods and equipment and the ability to pursue their own research interests and switch disciplines as they mature. For some Indian applicants, academic freedom means being at the vanguard of their research fields.
Gaurav in Mumbai said: “I would like to pursue research at the frontier of my field. India is actually ahead in lot of areas but not exactly in my field. So, I would like to see the best in the world before I come back to serve my own country.”
Indian applicants also suggest that international study can provide a route away from studying in an oppressive or challenging environment. Even just discovering a like-minded supervisor can provide the stimulating learning environment an international student seeks. Prospective master’s student Bijoy, in Delhi, considers teaching the most important factor when choosing a course. He said he values “who the professors are, what kind of experience they have and how they’re going to help me in the long run.”
Find out more about the motives of Indian applicants and what we can learn about STEM applicants in particular by downloading the full report.
There are many advantages to studying abroad, the international exposure, the faculty and the modern teaching techniques being some of them. Come find out what an international masters degree can do for you at the QS World Grad School Tour.
Testimonials
+ 4 others
saved this article
+ 5 others saved this article
Recommended articles Last year
Top 10 universities in India
Where can you study abroad for free?
What is STEM?