A new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that rising Chinese college graduation rates in the 2000s materially expanded U.S. master’s programs and that enrollment by Chinese nationals subsidized graduate program growth — in some cases enabling more Americans to attend. Authors from UC San Diego and Stanford tracked admissions records in China alongside U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Information System data to map flows. The paper’s findings landed amid heightened scrutiny of student visas and congressional calls for restrictions on Chinese nationals. International‑education leaders such as Fanta Aw of NAFSA argue the results should inform policy tradeoffs between national‑security concerns and the economic and enrollment benefits international students bring to U.S. campuses.