Cost Blowout Puts Fees For Foreign PhD Students Under ReviewJohn Gerritsen Education correspondentA blow-out in the cost of treating foreign PhD students like locals has prompted a rethink of the long-standing policy and a cap on spending next year. Baisden said reducing the number of foreign PhD students could incentivise people to create better conditions for New Zealand students. Lamusse said any increase to international PhD students' fees would increase the cost of research because universities often covered students' fees from grants for specific projects. Just over 60 percent of domestic PhD students (3305) and 55 percent of international PhD students (2870) were female. In 2017, a Ministry of Education report said 75 percent of foreign PhD students had returned overseas five years after completing their studies, the highest percentage of any group of international students.