Will Your STEM Degree Guarantee You A Green Card?
“Sorry, what was your major again?”
“I mean…. I’m an international student. It’s obviously economics or computer science.”
Ah, yes: The rhetorical nature of the “what’s your major?” question. The answer is self-explanatory because your response is bound as international students, if only to help you advance closer to a more secure future in a new country. Your choices are confined, but only to guarantee you a step up in climbing the economic ladder in a volatile job market. At least, this is what the system dictates.
Ever since 2008, when the policy was changed in Washington, international students have been on the hunt for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) degrees. These academic areas of study allow international college graduates on an F-1 visa (nonimmigrant visas for education) to remain in the United States for an extended period to complete their Optional Practical Training (OPT) — provided if, and only if, they graduate with said degree on the list of STEM-approved fields of study.
The catch, however, is that not all students like STEM. If you’re a student interested in humanities or arts, you’re effectively shut out from visa opportunities as you’re given merely one year to secure company-approved visa employment. This hardens an even harrowing gap in higher education.
For Aryan Bhattacharjee, a New York University junior double majoring in philosophy and open arts, there has always been a sense of job insecurity going into the arts. “I’ve always felt left behind compared to all my friends who are pursuing economics or finance degrees,” said Bhattacharjee. “especially in terms of employability.”
As a result, more and more students opt for degrees in STEM-related industries. Recent statistics from NYU’S Wasserman Career Center show that for the class of 2021, healthcare was the most popular industry (12.1%), followed by internet and software (9.18%), and financial services (8.44%) — while performing and fine arts followed at 3.56%. But this push to enroll in STEM isn’t novel.
STEM’S development dates back to the Morrill Act of 1862, which urged the creation of more land grants universities to study agricultural sciences. With military innovations and technological advancements spanning both world wars and beyond, superpowers like the U.S. were determined to generate more talent that could compete in the space race of the 1950s and 1960s. Looking ahead to a future brim with technological prowess, STEM had always been a promise of upliftment.
However, students often compel themselves to study STEM subjects — even if they aren’t passionate about it. With a business degree, Anusha Chhabra, a liberal studies major at NYU, said she had to adjust her curriculum to fit a STEM-approved degree. The academic and mental pressure to meet the demand can be taxing.
“I have to major in data science as well because my business degree isn’t classified under STEM,” said Chhabra. “I have never been interested in data science, and neither am I very good at it but I still need to pursue it — even though it puts my GPA at risk. I would rather prefer to take classes for production and film.”
Globally, the financing for humanities research has fallen steadily since 2009. Moreover, almost every humanities field has seen a rapid drop in majors: history is down about 45 percent in 2018 from its 2007 peak, while the number of English majors have fallen by nearly half in 2018 since the late 1990s. The reduced funding in humanities leaves students scampering for loosely-related occupations and rendering the availability of company-approved visa sponsorship for international students negligible.
There has, however, been talk in academia about finding an intersection between science, commerce, and humanities. For example, Mcmaster University in Canada has rolled out a new program, titled “Integrated Business and Humanities,” which requires students to take courses in culture, languages, and philosophy.
In other cases, a strong appeal can be made by departments to the university registrar to assign a new C.I.P (Classification of Instructional Programs) code that may permit a certain program to fall under STEM qualification. Thomas Sirinides, director of International Student Services at NYU’s Office of Global Services, shares that the departments must justify how the assignment of a new code would describe their program better compared to the previous one to receive STEM eligibility. “This could be done on a national level by several schools, or internally through the university’s registrar,” said Sirindes.
After learning about STEM C.I.P codes from a colleague, Sylvan Solloway, the director of career services at NYU Journalism, worked to change the eligibility of the journalism major as a STEM program. Since numerous journalism graduates worked in the digital space or catered to the “T” or technology in STEM, she altered the coursework to train students in technology and multimedia.
“The journalism major at NYU requires you to take the multimedia course which allows you to report and tell stories using different mediums,” said Solloway. “While students also become eligible for the two-year STEM extension, many of our journalists also receive the O-1 visa or the person of extraordinary ability visa for their exceptional reporting.”
Sometimes, students can look for alternate visa options, such as the O-1B visa, which is obtained through national or international acclaim in the arts. Specifically, for work in motion picture and television productions, a beneficiary must present their extraordinary achievements to receive an O-B (MPTV) visa.
However, obtaining such visas can be competitive, and certainly not a given considering the shape-shifting nature of the job market. Despite these challenges, some international students continue to chase their dreams against the odds with the comfort of knowing that they followed their passion.
“When these people are 40, I know they’re going to have a midlife crisis thing,”laughed Bhattacharjee. “I guess everyone has their own share of job insecurity.”
