Of the colleges in the United States certified to enroll foreign students pursuing academic degrees, most played host to fewer than 50 students. But some colleges stood out: for enrolling a high number of international students authorized to work under the Optional Practical Training, or OPT, program; for enrolling a high number of F-1 student-visa holders; or for temporarily employing a relatively high number of international students either during their studies or following completion of their degrees. The top employers of all students authorized for Optional Practical Training were technology companies like Amazon, Integra Technologies, and Intel, but 77 colleges were among the top 200 employers for all students, and 62 colleges and research laboratories were among the top 200 employers for students who were authorized for such training in STEM fields.
Colleges that enrolled the most foreign students authorized for Optional Practical Training
| 1. | New York U. | 6,199 | 22,238 | 27.9% |
| 2. | Northwestern Polytechnic U. | 6,060 | 7,588 | 79.9% |
| 3. | U. of Southern California | 5,844 | 18,786 | 31.1% |
| 4. | Columbia U. | 5,590 | 18,332 | 30.5% |
| 5. | Northeastern U. | 4,359 | 17,304 | 25.2% |
| 6. | U. of Texas at Dallas | 4,192 | 10,272 | 40.8% |
| 7. | U. of Central Missouri | 3,718 | 4,753 | 78.2% |
| 8. | Arizona State U. | 3,716 | 14,647 | 25.4% |
| 9. | Carnegie Mellon U. | 3,631 | 9,435 | 38.5% |
| 10. | U. of Texas at Arlington | 3,250 | 8,122 | 40.0% |
| 11. | Silicon Valley U.* | 3,127 | 4,092 | 76.4% |
| 12. | U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign† | 3,063 | 14,735 | 20.8% |
| 13. | Purdue U. | 2,814 | 13,609 | 20.7% |
| 14. | U. of California at Los Angeles | 2,724 | 12,164 | 22.4% |
| 15. | U. of California at Berkeley | 2,690 | 12,779 | 21.1% |
| 16. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 2,688 | 10,328 | 26.0% |
| 17. | Illinois Institute of Technology | 2,678 | 6,451 | 41.5% |
| 18. | Boston U. | 2,524 | 11,955 | 21.1% |
| 19. | San Jose State U. | 2,489 | 5,956 | 41.8% |
| 20. | U. at Buffalo (SUNY) | 2,450 | 7,813 | 31.4% |
| 21. | U. of Florida | 2,399 | 7,660 | 31.3% |
| 22. | Indiana U.† | 2,356 | 11,090 | 21.2% |
| 23. | City U. of New York† | 2,345 | 12,401 | 18.9% |
| 24. | U. of Washington | 2,300 | 10,084 | 22.8% |
| 25. | Cornell U. | 2,241 | 8,904 | 25.2% |
| 26. | Texas A&M U.† | 2,228 | 7,602 | 29.3% |
| 27. | Georgia Institute of Technology | 2,160 | 7,727 | 28.0% |
| 28. | U. of Pennsylvania | 2,154 | 8,665 | 24.9% |
| 29. | U. of Minnesota† | 2,153 | 9,705 | 22.2% |
| 30. | Texas A&M U. at Kingsville† | 2,119 | 3,538 | 59.9% |
| 31. | North Carolina State U. | 2,007 | 5,974 | 33.6% |
| 32. | Rutgers, the State U. of New Jersey† | 1,956 | 8,805 | 22.2% |
| 33. | U. of California at San Diego | 1,955 | 11,003 | 17.8% |
| 34. | Wilmington U. | 1,924 | 3,216 | 59.8% |
| 35. | Pennsylvania State U.† | 1,919 | 12,876 | 14.9% |
| 36. | Ohio State U. | 1,899 | 8,887 | 21.4% |
| 37. | Harvard U. | 1,875 | 8,410 | 22.3% |
| 38. | Syracuse U. | 1,820 | 6,655 | 27.3% |
| 39. | George Washington U. | 1,801 | 6,285 | 28.7% |
| 40. | U. of Houston system† | 1,771 | 6,160 | 28.8% |
| 41. | U. of Maryland at College Park | 1,769 | 6,671 | 26.5% |
| 42. | U. of Illinois at Chicago | 1,751 | 5,387 | 32.5% |
| 43. | Academy of Art U. | 1,741 | 6,404 | 27.2% |
| 44. | Stevens Institute of Technology | 1,728 | 4,253 | 40.6% |
| 45. | Northwestern U. | 1,712 | 6,068 | 28.2% |
| 46. | New York Institute of Technology | 1,695 | 3,860 | 43.9% |
| 47. | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 1,661 | 3,446 | 48.2% |
| 48. | U. of California at Irvine | 1,604 | 8,926 | 18.0% |
| 49. | U. of Houston‐Clear Lake† | 1,584 | 2,506 | 63.2% |
| 50. | Stanford U. | 1,582 | 5,955 | 26.6% |
•••
Colleges that employed the most OPT-authorized students
| 18. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 504 |
| 19. | Arizona State U. | 461 |
| 27. | Johns Hopkins U. | 349 |
| 28. | North Carolina State U. | 348 |
| 37. | Stanford U. | 298 |
| 39. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 282 |
| 42. | U. of Pittsburgh† | 273 |
| 44. | Ohio State U. | 270 |
| 46. | Columbia U. | 263 |
| 49. | U. of Pennsylvania | 246 |
| 52. | Oklahoma State U. | 243 |
| 55. | Cornell U. | 234 |
| 59. | Carnegie Mellon U. | 223 |
| 61. | U. of Illinois at Chicago | 221 |
| 61. | U. of Southern California | 221 |
| 63. | Purdue U. | 218 |
| 64. | Northeastern U. | 213 |
| 66. | U. of Washington | 201 |
| 67. | Wayne State U. | 199 |
| 69. | Northwestern U. | 192 |
| 74. | Harvard U. | 184 |
| 75. | Michigan State U. | 180 |
| 77. | U. of California at San Diego | 177 |
| 81. | U. of Utah | 168 |
| 85. | Duke U. | 156 |
•••
Colleges that employed the most OPT students in STEM fields
| 19. | Stanford U. | 250 |
| 20. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 243 |
| 22. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 215 |
| 31. | U. of Pennsylvania | 164 |
| 36. | Northwestern U. | 147 |
| 38. | Columbia U. | 135 |
| 39. | Purdue U. | 132 |
| 40. | Johns Hopkins U. | 128 |
| 41. | Harvard U. | 127 |
| 53. | Baylor College of Medicine | 110 |
| 55. | U. of Washington | 106 |
| 59. | U. of Florida | 102 |
| 61. | Ohio State U. | 99 |
| 66. | Cornell U. | 89 |
| 67. | U. of California at Berkeley | 88 |
| 67. | Yale U. | 88 |
| 70. | U. of Minnesota† | 87 |
| 74. | California Institute of Technology | 85 |
| 74. | Duke U. | 85 |
| 78. | Michigan State U. | 83 |
| 78. | U. of Pittsburgh† | 83 |
| 83. | Georgia Institute of Technology | 80 |
| 87. | U. of Southern California | 74 |
| 88. | Arizona State U. | 72 |
| 91. | U. of Maryland at College Park | 69 |
* Silicon Valley University ended all classes in April 2018, after losing its accreditation.
† Approval for Student and Exchange Visitor Program covers multiple campuses.
Note: F-1 students are nonimmigrant foreign students who come to the United States to pursue a full course of academic study at institutions approved by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Totals in this table count all students enrolled at an institution during 2017, no matter how briefly. Optional Practical Training, or OPT, is temporary employment of up to one year at each education level that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major area of study. F-1 students may be authorized for such training precompletion (in which case they can work no more than 20 hours a week when the college is in session) or following completion of studies. Students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields can qualify for an additional 24 months of Optional Practical Training. OPT figures indicate how many students were authorized to work in the 2017 calendar year, though the authorization may have occurred in a previous year. The STEM OPT figures are a subset of the OPT totals. Colleges are shown in the OPT and OPT STEM listings with their ranks among all employers in those programs. Tied institutions are listed alphabetically. Institutions approved by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program can be found here. More data on foreign students can be found here. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement