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U.S. NEWS A7
Tuesday 17 November 2015
US adds foreign students, but few Americans study abroad
COLLIN BINKLEY It’s followed by the Univer- This photo shows Timothy P. White, Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside, visiting UCR
Associated Press sity of Southern California, students who are studying abroad in London. The number of international students studying at U.S.
BOSTON (AP) — The num- Columbia University and colleges increased by 10 percent last year, marking the largest single-year gain in 35 years, ac-
ber of international stu- Arizona State University, cording to new federal data. Meanwhile, the number of Americans studying abroad grew by only
dents studying at U.S. col- which each hosted more 5 percent, falling short of expectations.
leges increased by 10 per- than 11,000 international
cent last year, marking the students last year. (Fiona Hanson/University of California, Riverside, via AP)
largest single-year gain in At the University of South-
35 years, according to new ern California, the number
federal data. Meanwhile, of Indian students has gone
the number of Americans from 1,300 to more than
studying abroad grew by 2,000 since 2012. At other
only 5 percent, falling short schools like Harvard Univer-
of expectations. sity and the Massachusetts
The findings were released Institute of Technology,
Monday from an annual populations of Indian stu-
study by the nonprofit In- dents have increased over
stitute of International Edu- time but held steady in re-
cation and the U.S. Depart- cent years.
ment of State. The Institute of Interna-
Of almost 1 million students tional Education reported
that came to the U.S. in that international students
the 2014-15 school year, contributed $30 billion to
about a third came from the U.S. economy last year.
China, the most from any The U.S. remains the top
country. But much of last destination for international
year’s growth is credited students, but relatively few
to a surge in the number of Americans study abroad.
students who came from About 300,000 U.S. students
India, drawn by strong re- left the country to study in
search programs, experts the 2013-14 school year,
say. the most recent year for
In all, the number of Indian which figures for Americans
students in the U.S. grew by are available, a number
30 percent to more than that has risen steadily but
130,000, the biggest jump still accounts for less than
since the nonprofit started 2 percent of all U.S. under-
collecting data in 1954. graduate students.
“That increase has been “This rate of growth is not
primarily at the graduate good enough,” Bhandari
level, and we know that said. “We really do need
Indian students have al- to double or even triple this
ways been very attracted rate of growth.”
to the availability of excel- To boost those numbers,
lent science and research the U.S. Department of
facilities on U.S. campus- State said it’s opening a
es,” said Rajika Bhandari, new study abroad office
the nonprofit’s deputy vice offering information on pro-
president for research and grams and scholarships.
evaluation. “We are going to be work-
Numbers coming from Bra- ing very actively on out-
zil spiked, too, from 13,000 reach to explain the ben-
to 23,000, but Brazilians still efits of study abroad and
made up only 2 percent encourage more Ameri-
of international students in cans to participate,” said
the U.S. Marianne Craven, the act-
For the second consecu- ing deputy assistant secre-
tive year, New York Univer- tary of state for academic
sity hosted the largest num- programs. The office plans
ber of international stu- to launch its website this
dents, at more than 13,000. week, Craven said.q
