United States hosts over one million international students for the second consecutive year
According to the 2017 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange data released today by IIE and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Brazil is the 10th leading country worldwide sending students to the United States. The total number of international students in the United States increased by three percent over the prior year, reaching a record high of 1.08 million for the academic year 2016-2017.
Celebration of International Education Week:
Ambassador P. Michael McKinley underlined the importance of international study for the U.S. Mission to Brazil – “Student mobility between Brazil and the United States is one of our highest priorities. We are working with several institutional partners to continue already excellent bilateral educational initiatives and to even launch new ones in the coming months.”
The U.S. Mission in Brazil will celebrate International Education Week, November 13-17, with several initiatives and opportunities for Brazilian students to learn more about study in the United States. EducationUSA advisers will host a Facebook live chat in Portuguese to highlight the official opening of the Opportunity Funds program on November 14th at 4:30pm (Brasilia time). EducationUSA will hold a worldwide “Virtual College Fair” on November 15 starting at 12:00 noon (Brasilia time), during which representatives from various U.S. universities will discuss study opportunities with interested students. On November 16 at 12:00 noon (Brasilia time), EducationUSA will hold also hold an hour-long Interactive Facebook live program in English on the topic “College & University Admissions Explained.” Much more information is available at http://EducationUSA.org.br. Many scholarship opportunities can also be found at Fulbright Brazil: http://fulbright.org.br. More information will be available on the Embassy’s website: https://br.usembassy.gov.
Open Doors Results:
While the number of Brazilian students in the United States fell to 13,089 due to the end of the Science Mobility Program, Brazil is the 10th leading country worldwide sending students to the United States. U.S. students studying abroad increased by 3.8% worldwide to a record high of 325,339 students in academic year 2015-2016, and Brazil was ranked 24th as an overseas destination for U.S. students. Brazilians on Optional Practical Training programs (OPT) in the United States marked a sharp increase of 27.8%, with many students completing their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) OPT programs.
Top Places of Origin and Host States for International Students in the U.S.:
The top places of origin for international students in the United States were China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. The top host states were California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.
Academic Degrees and Majors:
Open Doors 2017 reports that modest increases in international students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in the U.S. were largely offset by a 14 percent decrease in non-degree program enrollment numbers, including short-term exchanges and intensive English programs. Twenty-five percent of all students who studied abroad majored in STEM fields, followed by Business, Social Sciences, Foreign Language and International Studies, and Fine and Applied Arts. For Brazil, 48.2% of the 13,089 students in the United States pursued undergraduate programs, 30.4% graduate study, 8.5% non-degree programs, and 12.9% pursued OPT programs.
About Open Doors:
Open Doors is published by the Institute of International Education (IIE), which collaborates with a range of corporate, government and foundation partners across the globe to design and manage scholarship, study abroad, workforce training and leadership development programs. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State builds relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private sector exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. EducationUSA is a Department of State network of over 400 international student advising centers in more than 170 countries, and in Brazil there are 34 EducationUSA advising centers available throughout the country. The network promotes U.S. higher education to students by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited postsecondary institutions in the United States. More info on Open Doors: http://iie.org/opendoors
Media Contacts
U.S. Embassy Brasilia, BrasiliaEMBEUA@state.gov
IIE, Sharon Witherell, switherell@iie.org
Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, ECA-Press@state.gov
For further information on this Press Release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Press Office in Brasília at BrasiliaEMBEUA@state.gov or on (+55 61) 3312 – 7367 / 7350 / 7364.
