Transcripts may also be requested. Overall, the search for a program is driven more by who they want to study with than where they would like to study. Students contact potential supervisors and are interviewed by them as well as departmental heads. In all four countries, there are two major types of students at both the master's or doctoral levels. The second are older students who want the qualification either as a change of direction or to consolidate their industrial experience to date.
International students seem to be less common in Canada than in the other countries.
Three of our four respondents chose to study, at some point in their academic career, outside of their home country. As one person noted, however, it was not an issue of quality of the education per se. In Australia, students seek industry-based jobs regardless of their level of graduate degree, although those with a Ph.D. tend to maintain stronger academic ties. In the U.S., there appear to be more opportunities for both applied positions and academic positions, due to the sheer volume of businesses and schools. Coursework is emphasized during study for the master's degree, which is assumed give students sufficient grounding for doctoral level research.