As more international doctoral students flow into science and engineering departments in American research universities, a marked shift on the demographic composition of doctoral student bodies has been witnessed. Using a dataset combining a survey of science and engineering department chairs with the latest department evaluation information, this study reveals that international students are overrepresented in least prestigious departments and underrepresented in top programs. Research findings suggest doctoral cohorts’ career prospects are stratified by the representation of international students, department prestige and academic fields. The doctoral cohorts with more international students are more likely to head for less research-oriented faculty appointments and less likely to take postdoctoral positions. The cohorts minted out of prestigious departments demonstrate a greater success in landing research-oriented faculty positions. Relative to the cohorts in life science, the cohorts in engineering and physical sciences are presented with different job opportunities. The study concludes with a discussion of research findings and policy implications.