New figures show that a record number of foreign students studied at American universities in the 2013-14 academic year.
The latest Open Doors report – an annual report put out by the Institute of International Education and the State Department – reveals that almost 900,000 students from overseas studied in the States during the last school year, and states that the number of international students studying in the US has grown by 72 per cent since 2000.
The bulk of international students coming to the US come from China. with nearly 275,000 Chinese students studying at US undergraduate and graduate universities in 2013-14 – an increase of almost 17 per cent from the prior year.
Several other countries also saw double-digit increases as source countries of US students, including Kuwait (an increase of 43 per cent), Brazil (22 per cent), Saudi Arabia (21 per cent), Iran (17 per cent), and Venezuela (14 per cent). Many of those increases were due to scholarship programs put in place by the country of origin.
The figures also show that, for the first time ever, four universities – New York University, University of Southern California, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and Columbia University – each hosted more than 10,000 international students.
The report also revealed that more US students are choosing to study abroad, although the share of US students who study abroad for some portion of their undergraduate years is still less than 10 per cent. The UK is the most popular destination for American students, followed by Italy, Spain, France, and China.
Article published 19th November 2014