Janss Steps, Royce Hall in background, University of California, LA, Photo by b r e n t (UCLA) via Wikimedia Commons
Over one million international students are studying at U.S. colleges and universitie during the 2015-16 academic year, more than at any other time.
The current academic year has seen an increase of seven percent from the previous year to a new high of nearly 1,044,000, representing five percent of the total student population at U.S. institutions.
California and New York are the top two destinations for international students getting higher education.
According to 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange more than a third of these international students studied engineering, math or computer science, and 14 percent engaged in Optional Practical Training (OPT), including many in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) professions.
The release of data coincides with a fast-growing number of students crossing the globe to diversify their knowledge, skills in the era of specialization and highly competitive job marekt.
The latest report says the growth in international STEM students is likely connected to the 25 percent increase in students from India, more than three quarters of who study in these fields.
At the same time, Open Doors finds that more than 313,000 U.S. students received credit last year for study abroad during 2014-15, an increase of nearly three percent over the previous year. A quarter of these students majored in STEM fields.
The Institute of International Education says Open Doors findings reflect that students study abroad in part to gain international experience that can be applied in their careers, and data also show that an increasing number of U.S. students—over 22,000 in 2014-15—participated in non-credit work, internships and volunteering abroad through which they can gain practical skills.
“We need to empower more of America’s future leaders to experience the world beyond our borders,” said Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, according to an IIE statement.
“The Open Doors findings show that international students value the quality, diversity and strong reputation of U.S. institutions and recognize that these institutions will give them opportunities that can help them not only in their education but also in their careers,” said IIE President Allan Goodman.
“At the Institute of International Education, we believe American colleges and universities offer a premiere education and valuable training to students from around the globe and that students from other nations also teach us a lot about the world we share. The more we can open doors to other cultures for our students, the better off our country and our world will be.”
The report says the gender gap among international students has widened slightly over the past two years: only 43 percent of students who came to the U.S. to study during the 2015-16 academic year were women, down from 45 percent five years ago, likely because fewer women tend to study in STEM fields worldwide.
Among American students studying abroad, women continue to make up 67 percent of the study abroad population. The racial and ethnic diversity has improved modestly each year since 2004-05, with 27 percent of U.S. students who studied abroad in 2014-15 identified as racial or ethnic minorities, up from 17 percent a decade ago. Open Doors reports that about 5 percent of those who studied abroad were people with disabilities.
Here are some other findings of the Open Doors data as released by the IIE:
⦁ While students from China and India remained the leading countries of origin and accounted for 84 percent of the growth in international students in 2015-16, Saudi Arabia’s government-sponsored international scholarship program helped drive that country to surpass South Korea to become the third largest sender of international students to the United States.
⦁ Meanwhile, the number of students coming to the United States from Brazil declined by 18 percent in 2015-16, the largest decline recorded and one that is likely due to the freeze in the Brazilian government’s Scientific Mobility Program, which previously sponsored many Brazilian students’ U.S. studies.
⦁ California hosted nearly 150,000 international students in 2015-16, making it the top destination for students from abroad. Four of the top 20 U.S. host institutions for international students were located in California, with the University of Southern California ranking second, just behind New York University.
⦁ New York is the second leading host state, and New York City is the leading host metropolitan area.
⦁ International students bring nearly $36 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Open Doors shows breakdowns by country and host state
