For the second year in a row, a record number of Indian students went to the United States of America to pursue their higher education. According to the Open Doors Report 2022, almost 2 lakh Indian students chose America as their higher education destination in the 2021- 22 academic year. The enrolment of Indian students in American universities increased by 19%; in 2020-21, 167,582 students opted to study in the US. Nearly 21% of over one million foreign students studying in the US are Indian.
Attracting talent
Gloria Berbena, minister counsellor for Public Diplomacy, US Embassy, says, “It is clear that Indian students and their parents recognise the value of US education, one that prepares them to leverage their newly gained know-how to tackle the world’s challenges and readies them for future opportunities, whether that’s in Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerging technologies or entrepreneurship and innovation.”
Sponsored by the US Department of State and the Institute of International Education (IIE), the Open Doors Report 2022 pointed out that 948,519 international students from more than 200 places were pursuing education at higher education institutions in the US in 2021-2022, an increase of 4% year-on year. The report also points to the rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic that brought international mobility to a halt and reduced the number of students opting for higher education abroad.
China topped the list of countries that are sending a sizable number of students to the US with 290,086 students. However, the number of Chinese students in the US reduced from 317,299 in 2020-21, -8.6% year on-year. It is followed by India’s 199,182 students, an increase of 19% year-on-year. Other countries that have witnessed an increase in student populations in the US include Canada, Mexico, Spain, and Germany. In 2021-22, Nigeria saw its largest increase (12.3% year-on-year) in international students studying in the US.
Among the US institutions hosting international students in 2021/22, New York University had the maximum number of students — 21,081. Followed by Northeastern University, Boston, with 17,836 students and Columbia University, New York, with 16,956 international students. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, had 15,729 and Arizona State University – Campus Immersion, Tempe, had 15,293 students.
California had the largest international student population in 2021 — 134,043, up by 1%, among the US states followed by New York with 113,666 students in 2023. Massachusetts was in third place with 71,026, up 7.2%, and Texas was in fourth with 70,223 international students, followed by Illinois’ 46,599 in 2021-22.
Top choices
Pursuing Math and Computer Science in the US remains the top choice among international students with 200,301 opting for them in 2021-22, up 10% year-on year. In the same period, a total of 188,194 international students opted for Engineering and 147,293 for Business and Management and 78,770 pursued Social Science. More than 19,000 opted for Communications and Journalism, -4.4% year-on-year. In addition to international students enrolled in academic programmes, more than 184,000 students pursued Optional Practical Training (OPT) in the US, allowing candidates to gain work experience after the academic programme.
Encouraging new trends
The report also points out that in addition to the 14,549 US students who received academic credits for studying abroad in 2020/21, 103 institutions reported that an additional 1,585 US students participated in non-credit work, internships, volunteering, and research abroad; in 2020/21, 427 institutions reported that 32,990 US students participated in online global learning opportunities, including remote internships, collaborative project-based learning, and videoconference dialogues.
In 2020-21, Europe hosted the maximum number of US students — 9,647. Followed by Asia, 1,795, and Latin America and the Caribbean 1,600; Middle East & North Africa hosted 711 students in the same year.