Washington, April 22 (PTI): The number of Indian students applying for masters and doctoral studies in American universities has increased by 6 per cent in 2006-07, a recent study said.

The Council of Graduate Studies said Indians were inclined to opt for the largest institutions — their applications to 10 of these has increased by 22 per cent.

Students from India, along with those from China and South Korea, account for the majority — 53 per cent — of all non-US citizen graduates attending US colleges and universities, it said.

Overall, the total number of non-US citizens who applied for admission to masters and doctoral programmes in American colleges and universities rose 8 per cent between 2006 and 2007.

This increase compares with an overall gain of 12 per cent from 2005 to 2006 but a decline of 5 per cent in the 2004-05 period. Between 2006 and 2007, the total number of graduate applicants from India was up just 6 per cent, after a surge of 26 per cent last year.