Study abroad statistics

Facts & figures on U.S. students abroad and international students in the U.S.

• In 2003/04, about 191,000 American students studied abroad in foreign countries. Ten years ago, approximately 76,000 took part in such programs abroad. That represents a 250% increase in study abroad participation over the last decade.

• Several students study in English-speaking countries, with the UK (32,000 students) and Australia (11,500 students) landing in the top 10 study abroad destinations. Italy and Spain and Italy are nearly tied at spots #2 and #3, each with about 60% of the students that study in the United Kingdom each year.

• Around 40% of students go abroad during their junior year. That means that 60% go abroad at some other time during their studies.

• More women study abroad than men. About 65% of participants each year are female, 35% male.

• The majority of study abroad participants choose to study abroad for one semester (38%) or during a summer term (37%). Only 6% of those studying abroad go for a whole academic year, down from 14% ten years ago. While a decade ago only about 2% of students participated in study abroad programs that lasted less than 8 weeks, today those who choose a program of less than 2 months in duration amount to about 9% of participants.

• Only 7.5% of students studying abroad are foreign language majors. A greater number of students have majors in social sciences, business fields, humanities, and arts.

• Over 565,000 international students were enrolled in U.S. universities and colleges in 2004/05.

• The number of international students in U.S. higher education has leveled off in recent years due to a number of factors, including the obstacles to obtaining student visas since 9/11 and the rising cost of tuition in the United States. In the face of these difficulties, some potential international students instead opt to study in other English-speaking countries or to take advantage of improved educational opportunities in their home countries.

• Nearly half of all U.S. international students come from one of 5 countries: India, China, Korea, Japan, and Canada. Students from Asia make up 58% of the enrolled international students in the U.S.

• In 2004/05, international students spent $13.3 billion in the U.S., most of which derived from sources outside of the U.S.

• The University of Southern California enrolls more international students each year than any other U.S. university. In 2004/05, over 6800 students from other countries studied at USC.

• The 5 U.S. states that attract the most international students, in descending order, are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida. The foreign students in these states make up about 42% of all international students in the United States.

• The most popular fields of study for students from abroad are in business fields, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. These account for over 43% of declared majors of international students.

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