China remains biggest source of international students in US: report

Students from China attend the graduation ceremony at Columbia University in the United States. [Photo: Xinhua]

A recent report compiled by U.S. authorities has shown that China was the source of the largest number of international students in the United States during the 2016-2017 academic year.

The 2017 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released on November 13th, was published by the Institute of International Education, an independent U.S. nonprofit organization, in partnership with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs under the U.S. Department of State.

According to the report, U.S. colleges and universities hosted about 1.08 million international students during the past academic year, representing a 3% increase year on year. Among them, a total of 350,755 were from China, nearly one third of the total number, up 6.8% from the year before. While the rate of growth has slowed, the number of Chinese students has topped the list for an eighth consecutive year.

Among the Chinese students in the US, the number of undergraduates (142,851) exceeded that of graduate students (128,000) during 2016-2017, and the number of non-degree students also rose by 13% over the previous academic year; the number of students under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program saw the biggest increase, with a year-on-year growth of 14.6%.

The most popular majors for Chinese students to study in America were business and management, accounting for 23.1% of the total number; the number of students majoring in engineering also accounted for 18.7%. Those studying mathematics or computer science accounted for 15.5%.

The report also shows that 325,339 American students received academic credit over the last year for their studies abroad in the 2015-2016 academic year, an increase of 4% from the previous year. China was the sixth top host destinations for U.S. students studying abroad, with close to 12,000 studying in China during 2015-2016.

New York University hosted the biggest number of international students, or 17,000, out of all U.S. institutions. The top three host states for international students were California, New York and Texas, all of which saw an increase in the number of international students during the past academic year.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international students have contributed $36.9 billion to the U.S. economy and that about 67% of them are self-funded.