Open Doors Report for 2023/24 highlights appetite for STEM in the US
The Open Doors Report 2024 is here, and it is the perfect opportunity to delve into the meaningful numbers behind international education in the U.S.A.
As the preeminent report on international student enrollment in the U.S., produced by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, we’ve asked Alex Marston, Study Group’s General Manager for North America to analyze the findings and provide insights on what the numbers mean for Study Group and the industry for the current academic year.
Overall Changes for 2023/24 Academic Year
The U.S. welcomed 1.12 million international students for the 2023/2024 academic year. 298,705 were newly enrolled in U.S. programs, marking a 7% increase from 2022/2023.
Most of this growth is represented by students completing Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows international students to remain in the U.S. after graduation for work experience related to their degree. OPT students increased by 22%, to an all-time high of 242,782.
ALEX MARSTON’S VIEW: “U.S. institutions have historically welcomed international students with open arms, greatly valuing the rich diversity they bring in both background and education to their campuses. While visa issuance fluctuated, Study Group saw significant growth in recruitment across our U.S. portfolio for this academic year compared to 2022/2023.
Leading Places of Origin
India surpassed China as the top place of origin for 2023/2024 with 331,602 international students, a 23.3% increase and comprising 29.4% of total international students in the U.S. Of these Indian students, 196,567 were graduate students and 97,556 were enrolled in Optional Practical Training (OPT).
South Korea (43,149, a decrease of 1.6%), Canada (28,998, an increase of 4%), and Taiwan (23,157, an increase of 6.1%) make up the rest of the top five.
AM: “Despite a dip in student enrollment coming from India for Fall 2024, which will likely show in next year’s report, we expect the country to be a major source of students moving forward. The appetite for STEM and business degrees in the region continues to lead demand, as forecasted by our analysts.
Furthermore, we recognize the importance of student diversity for our partners, in both nationality and desired degrees. Increasing enrollments from across all regions is a critical part of our recruitment strategy for 2025, as is emphasizing our university partners’ wide variety of programs that are going to meet future job market demands.”
STEM as Primary Programs of Study
STEM subjects continue to be the most popular at 56% of students' chosen majors, and math/computer science growing by 16.9% and continued to be the leading field with 280,922 international students (24.9% of all international students). Engineering remains second at 210,163 students (18.7% total) with 3.6% growth. Business and management remain third with 159,810 students (14.2% total; 1.6% increase YoY).
AM: “Study Group identified very early on the growth in demand for STEM and business programs and worked with our partners to offer innovative STEM programs based on data-driven in-market demand – something we see coming to fruition today.
Study Group’s U.S. university partners deliver competitive, desirable STEM programs, particularly in computing fields such as computer science, cybersecurity, AI, and data science. We fully expect these degrees to be successful and grow this year.
Our students continue to express strong interest in STEM subjects leading to internships through Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and extended OPT positions after they graduate. We will continue to work with our partners to provide solutions that provide connections with industries and guidance on CPT and OPT applications, increasing employability opportunities for students.”
If you would like to learn more about our partnership opportunities in the U.S., contact Partnership Development Director Jonathan Lee at Jonathan.Lee@studygroup.com.
Source: Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. For more information, visit https://opendoorsdata.org/.