A Country’s Religious Freedom and Graduate School Attendance in the U.S

Abstract Due to large numbers of students arriving in the U.S. with different religious beliefs/backgrounds, it is necessary to analyze the religious environment of students’ home country and examine how it affects educational attainment. This research examines the relationship between religious freedom/restrictions and international enrollment rates in graduate school programs in the U.S. This study uses a quantitative cross-sectional research design that represent a total of 78 countries. The results demonstrate that students from countries with high levels of government restrictions enroll in graduate school at a relatively lower rate than students from countries with low levels of such government restrictions.