The United States faces a critical imperative: keeping some of the brightest minds in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the country to secure our workforce advantage in these fields and fuel economic growth and global competitiveness.
The American Immigration Council, along with five other prominent organizations, recently sent a letter to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) advocating for expanding the STEM degree fields list to include eight new fields critical to the artificial intelligence technical workforce. The proposed fields also align with the Biden administration’s directive for a safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI.
Currently, the “DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List” includes 31 fields of study added during the Biden administration. Qualifying international students in F-1 status who have received degrees in these STEM fields are eligible for up to 36 months of post-graduate training, while graduates in other fields are limited to 12 months.
Graduates with degrees on the STEM degree fields list have a greater incentive to remain in the United States and gain experience with U.S. employers. The additional experience and their extended presence in the United States may enable them to transition to other visa categories for employment, either temporarily or as lawful permanent residents.
Recognizing the importance of retaining a globally diverse and skilled STEM workforce, our letter to SEVP recommends adding eight new fields of study. Each of these fields equips students with skills in innovation, research, or technology development, showing that these fields of study are “related fields” qualified to be listed on the Designated Fields List for the STEM OPT program:
- Economics, General (45.0601).
- Development Economics and International Development (45.0604).
- International Economics (45.0605).
- Applied Psychology (42.2813).
- Counseling Psychology (42.2803).
- Applied Economics (45.0602).
- Clinical Psychology (42.2801).
To ensure these degree fields were the right choice, the coalition of six organizations identified these eight fields through a deliberate, data-based process:
First, we found that each nominated field is an important source of talent in the AI technical workforce. The Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University, which tracks the growth and supply of the AI workforce in the United States, found that these fields produce graduates who excel in technical AI roles. The number of technical workers in the AI workforce has grown by 24% since 2018, and these graduates are part of that growth.
Second, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) also classifies these fields as STEM. The NCSES, under the National Science Foundation, uses the “Taxonomy of Disciplines” to define STEM fields. This classification helps the government monitor the STEM workforce and education.
Finally, the Departments of Labor and Education recognize these fields as vital for STEM jobs. They use the O*NET database to classify occupations and the CIP-SOC Crosswalk to connect degree programs with job skills. This ensures that these fields develop the knowledge needed for STEM careers.
STEM professionals play a vital role in technological development and U.S. competitiveness, especially in critical and emerging technology fields. They drive the nation’s capacity for innovation through research and other technologically advanced activities, known as the science and engineering enterprise. Immigrant workers in STEM fields play an important role in this enterprise. The share of immigrants in the STEM workforce is 23.1%, higher than their overall representation in the labor force at 17.2%. Recognizing this, the Biden administration’s executive order on AI includes directives to support and attract foreign STEM talent, further bolstering the nation’s innovative ability.
By adding these new fields to the STEM Designated Degree Program list, AI technical workforce needs may be met by the international students already being educated in the United States, as envisioned by section 5.1 of last year’s executive order on artificial intelligence. This also means more talented individuals may choose the United States for their post-secondary education and pursue employment opportunities here. A robust mix of international and domestic STEM degree graduates will help the United States maintain its leadership in technology and innovation.