Embargoed until Nov.

16th
Edited on 11/6/15

2015 Fast Facts

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D E N T S I N T H E U . S .
NEW INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT
2009/10
2010/11

202,970
214,490

2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15

228,467
250,920
270,128
293,766

TOP PLACES OF ORIGIN OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

New international student

enrollment students
enrolling for the first time
at a U.S. institution in
fall 2014 increased by 8.8%
over the previous year.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT TRENDS

In 2014/15, the number of international students in the U.S. increased by 10.0% to a record high of 974,926 students.

13/14

10/11

07/08

04/05

01/02

98/99

95/96

92/93

89/90

86/87

83/84

80/81

77/78

74/75

71/72

68/69

65/66

62/63

59/60

56/57

53/54

1,100,000
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0

%
change
-2.4
-1.3
-0.1

U.S. higher
education total*
16,911,000
17,272,000
17,487,000

%
intl

2003/04
2004/05
2005/06

Total intl
students
572,509
565,039
564,766

2006/07
2007/08
2008/09

582,984
623,805
671,616

3.2
7.0
7.7

17,672,000
18,248,000
19,103,000

3.3
3.4
3.5

2009/10
2010/11
2011/12

690,923
723,277
764,495

2.9
4.7
5.7

20,428,000
20,550,000
20,625,000

3.4
3.5
3.7

2012/13
2013/14

819,644
886,052

7.2
8.1

21,253,000
21,216,000

3.9
4.2

2014/15

974,926

10.0

20,300,000

4.8

3.4
3.3
3.2

*Data from the National Center of Education Statistics

TOP U.S. STATES HOSTING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

California

2013/14
121,647

2014/15
135,130

% change
11.1

2
3

New York
Texas

98,906
64,277

106,758
75,588

7.9
17.6

4
5
6
7
8
9

Massachusetts
Illinois
Pennsylvania
Florida
Ohio
Michigan

51,240
42,527
41,446
36,249
32,498
29,648

55,447
46,574
45,704
39,377
35,761
32,015

8.2
9.5
10.3
8.6
10.0
8.0

10

Indiana

26,406

28,104

6.4

The Institute of International Education (IIE) has conducted an annual

census of international students in the U.S. since its founding in 1919.
Known as the Open Doors Report since 1954, and supported by the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of
State since 1972, the report provides detailed data on student flows into
and out of the U.S. Visit us online at: http://www.iie.org/opendoors.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

WORLD TOTAL
China
India
South Korea
Saudi Arabia
Canada
Brazil
Taiwan
Japan
Vietnam
Mexico
Iran
United Kingdom
Turkey
Germany
Nigeria
Kuwait
France
Indonesia
Nepal
Hong Kong
Venezuela
Malaysia
Thailand
Colombia
Spain

2013/14
886,052
274,439
102,673
68,047
53,919
28,304
13,286
21,266
19,334
16,579
14,779
10,194
10,191
10,821
10,160
7,921
7,288
8,302
7,920
8,155
8,104
7,022
6,822
7,341
7,083
5,350

2014/15
974,926
304,040
132,888
63,710
59,945
27,240
23,675
20,993
19,064
18,722
17,052
11,338
10,743
10,724
10,193
9,494
9,034
8,743
8,188
8,158
8,012
7,890
7,231
7,217
7,169
6,143

% of total
100.0
31.2
13.6
6.5
6.1
2.8
2.4
2.2
2.0
1.9
1.7
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.0
1.0
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6

% change
10.0
10.8
29.4
-6.4
11.2
-3.8
78.2
-1.3
-1.4
12.9
15.4
11.2
5.4
-0.9
0.3
19.9
24.0
5.3
3.4
0.0
-1.1
12.4
6.0
-1.7
1.2
14.8

TOP U.S. INSTITUTIONS HOSTING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, 2014/15

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

New York University

University of Southern California
Columbia University
Arizona State University
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Northeastern University
Purdue University - West Lafayette
University of California - Los Angeles
Michigan State University
University of Washington
Boston University
Penn State University - University Park
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ohio State University - Columbus
University of Texas - Dallas
Indiana University - Bloomington
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of California - Berkeley
SUNY University at Buffalo
Texas A&M University

New York
Los Angeles
New York
Tempe
Champaign
Boston
West Lafayette
Los Angeles
East Lansing
Seattle
Boston
University Park
Ann Arbor
Columbus
Richardson
Bloomington
Minneapolis
Berkeley
Buffalo
College Station

NY
CA
NY
AZ
IL
MA
IN
CA
MI
WA
MA
PA
MI
OH
TX
IN
MN
CA
NY
TX

13,178
12,334
11,510
11,330
11,223
10,559
10,230
10,209
8,146
8,035
7,860
7,728
7,423
7,121
7,064
7,009
6,984
6,874
6,852
6,690

ACADEMIC LEVEL TRENDS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15

Under%
graduate change
291,439
6.2
309,342
6.1
339,993
9.9
370,724
9.0
398,824
7.6

%
Graduate change
296,574
0.9
300,430
1.3
311,204
3.6
329,854
6.0
362,228
9.8

Non%
degree change
59,233
8.1
69,566 17.4
73,528
5.7
79,477
8.1
93,587 17.8

%
OPT change
76,031 12.1
85,157 12.0
94,919 11.5
105,997 11.7
120,287 13.5

I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D E N T S I N T H E U . S . (contd)
PRIMARY SOURCE OF FUNDING

2013/14

2014/15

% of total

SELECTED FIELDS OF STUDY

Business and Management
Engineering

Personal and Family

U.S. College or University
Foreign Government or University
Current Employment
Foreign Private Sponsor
U.S. Government

574,129
171,218
66,147
49,503
9,574
4,186

619,999
203,337
75,042
48,632
9,735
4,915

63.6
20.9
7.7
5.0
1.0
0.5

Math and Computer Science

Social Sciences
Physical and Life Sciences
Fine and Applied Arts
Intensive English
Health Professions

91,434
72,390
70,479
51,195
43,456
31,954

112,950
75,951
73,838
56,758
49,233
33,399

11.6
7.8
7.6
5.8
5.0
3.4

23.5
4.9
4.8
10.9
13.3
4.5

4,548
1,696
5,051

4,124
2,489
6,653

0.4
0.3
0.7

886,052

974,926

100.0

Communications and Journalism

Education
Humanities
Legal Studies and Law Enforcement
Agriculture

18,678
17,879
17,930
12,702
10,635

20,161
17,675
17,504
13,778
12,278

2.1
1.8
1.8
1.4
1.3

7.9
-1.1
-2.4
8.5
15.4

U.S. Private Sponsor

International Organization
Other Source
TOTAL INTL STUDENTS

2013/14
188,179
170,189

2014/15
197,258
196,750

% of total
20.2
20.2

% change
4.8
15.6

U.S. STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD

304,467 U.S. students studied abroad for academic credit in 2013/14, an increase
of 5.2% over the previous year. U.S. student participation in study abroad has more
than tripled over the past two decades.
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0

TOP FIVE MAJOR FIELDS OF STUDY, 2013/14

total

% of total

Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

68,798

22.6

Business

59,687

19.6

Social Sciences

57,067

18.7

Foreign Language & Intl Studies

23,818

7.8

Fine or Applied Arts

21,191

7.0

2003/04

2008/09

2013/14

83.7

80.5

74.3

Hispanic or Latino(a)

5.0

6.0

8.3

Asian or Pacific Islander

6.1

7.3

7.7

Black or African-American

3.4

4.2

5.6

Multiracial

1.3

1.6

3.6

American Indian or Alaska Native

0.5

0.5

0.5

191,231

260,327

304,467

RACE/ETHNICITY OF U.S. STUDENTS ABROAD

White

TOTAL U.S. STUDENTS ABROAD

HOST REGIONS*
Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Oceania
Middle East & North Africa
North America
Antarctica
Multiple
TOTAL

2012/13
total % of total
154,182
53.3
45,473
15.7

2013/14
total % of total
162,282
53.3
49,312
16.2

%
change
5.3
8.4

35,866
13,411
11,584
6,415
1,380
41
21,056

12.4
4.6
4.0
2.2
0.5
0.0
7.3

36,290
13,266
11,923
6,349
1,470
15
23,560

11.9
4.4
3.9
2.1
0.5
0.0
7.7

1.2
-1.1
2.9
-1.0
6.5
-63.4
11.9

289,408

100.0

304,467

100.0

5.2

DESTINATIONS
1
United Kingdom

2012/13
36,210

2013/14 % of Total
38,250
12.6

2
3

Italy
Spain

29,848
26,281

31,166
26,949

10.2
8.9

4.4
2.5

4
5
6

France
China
Germany

17,210
14,413
9,544

17,597
13,763
10,377

5.8
4.5
3.4

2.2
-4.5
8.7

7
8
9
10

Ireland
Costa Rica
Australia
Japan

8,084
8,497
8,320
5,758

8,823
8,578
8,369
5,978

2.9
2.8
2.7
2.0

9.1
1.0
0.6
3.8

11
12
13

South Africa
India
Mexico

5,337
4,377
3,730

4,968
4,583
4,445

1.6
1.5
1.5

-6.9
4.7
19.2

14
15
16

Argentina
Brazil
Ecuador

4,549
4,223
3,438

4,301
4,226
3,699

1.4
1.4
1.2

-5.5
0.1
7.6

17
18
19

Czech Republic
Denmark
Peru

3,552
3,302
2,956

3,572
3,545
3,396

1.2
1.2
1.1

0.6
7.4
14.9

20
21
22
23

Chile
South Korea
Greece
New Zealand

2,879
3,042
2,394
2,793

3,333
3,219
3,066
3,021

1.1
1.1
1.0
1.0

15.8
5.8
28.1
8.2

24
25

Israel
Austria
WORLD TOTAL

2,798
2,673
289,408

2,876
2,744
304,467

0.9
0.9
100.0

2.8
2.7
5.2

U.S. study
abroad total

U.S. higher
education total

All U.S. undergraduates studying abroad

in 2013/14

264,886

16,991,400*

1.6

All U.S. undergraduates who study

abroad during their degree program

264,886

2,688,032**

9.9

U.S. bachelors students who study

abroad during their degree program

259,710

1,753,436** 14.8

PARTICIPATION

* Total enrollment of U.S. undergraduates (excluding international students) in higher

education
** Undergraduate degrees awarded to U.S. students (excluding international students)

* Cyprus and Turkey are included in Europe; Mexico is included in Latin America

DURATION

OTHER FORMS OF EDUCATION ABROAD

In addition to the 304,467 U.S. students who received academic credit for study
abroad in 2013/14, 22,181 U.S. students participated in non-credit work, internships,

Short-term (summer, or eight weeks or less)

Mid-length (one semester, or one or two quarters)
Long-term (academic or calendar year)

and volunteering abroad.

% change
5.6

2012/13

2013/14

60.3
36.5
3.2

62.1
34.9
3.0