The latest data released by the United States shows that the number of international students studying in the U.S. continues to exceed one million for the 2019-2020 school year, but is down 1.8 percent from the previous school year. This is the first decline since the 2005-2006 school year.
The 2020 report released by the Institute of International Education, a U.S. nongovernmental organization, and the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs also shows that the number of international students enrolled in the U.S. in the 2019-2020 school year will decline by 1.8 percent from the previous year, U.S. News & World Report reported Monday. The number of international new students enrolled in the 2019-2020 academic year was 267,000, a decrease of 0.6%, which is better than the 6.6% decrease in new student enrollment two years ago, indicating a stabilization of the downward trend.
Meanwhile, the number of international students participating in the Optional Practical Training program (OPT) increased by 0.2% in the 2019-2020 academic year, continuing the trend of increasing OPT participation in recent years. The program allows international students to intern or obtain employment with U.S. companies directly related to their field of study after or prior to graduation.
Compared to previous academic years, engineering continues to be the top choice for international students, followed by mathematics, computer science, business, and management. Despite a 4.4 percent decline in the number of international students choosing engineering, 20.5 percent of all international students still chose the major.
Among the three countries with the most students remaining in the U.S., Chinese students enrolled in fall 2019 increased by 0.8 percent, India declined by 4.4 percent, and South Korea declined by 4.7 percent.
However, there were increases in students from some other countries who stayed in the United States. Spain had the fastest growth in the number of students remaining in the U.S. at 9.5 percent, and Bangladesh at 7.1 percent.
Overall, China had the largest number of students in the U.S., accounting for 34.6 percent of all international students in the U.S. for the 2019-2020 academic year, while India accounted for 19 percent and South Korea for 4.6 percent.
Although U.S.-China relations have tended to worsen in the last year or two, U.S. officials say they continue to welcome Chinese students to study in the United States. Anthony Kolya, head of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Education Programs, said, “We continue to welcome Chinese students engaged in legitimate study in all fields.” “We know that Chinese students want to come to the United States, we want them to come, and we want to make sure that they have the opportunity to experience American democracy and the rule of law. “.
The 2020 study abroad report does not include the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic because it is based on data for fall 2019 enrollment, the report said. However, the report’s projections for the future take into account the neo-coronavirus epidemic, and the future of international students studying in the U.S. is not very promising.
According to a survey of 710 universities and colleges out of more than 2,900 schools, international student enrollment declined by 16 percent in the fall of 2020, primarily due to a 43 percent decline in new student enrollment. In addition, nearly 40,000 international students suspended fall 2020 enrollment and delayed enrollment into the future.
However, U.S. experts say that international students will once again flock to U.S. universities after the global neo-coronavirus pandemic.
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