Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    AI and Microcredentials
Sign In
Welcome Back

International Students Surge Back to U.S. Campuses

By Karin Fischer November 13, 2023
Illustration of flying birds with various foreign flags on their bodies.
James Yang for The Chronicle

What’s New

International enrollments at American colleges rebounded strongly in the 2022-23 academic year, increasing 12 percent, the largest single-year growth in more than four decades.

The number of international students in the United States once again surpassed 1 million, after dipping below that level during the pandemic. American campuses hosted some 1.057 million students from abroad last year, according to newly released data from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

The News

International enrollments at American colleges rebounded strongly in the 2022-23 academic year, increasing 12 percent, the largest single-year growth in more than four decades.

The number of international students in the United States once again surpassed one million, after dipping below that level during the pandemic. American campuses hosted some 1.057-million students from abroad last year, according to newly released data from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State.

Growth was especially robust at the graduate level, where enrollments increased by 21 percent over the previous year, the annual “Open Doors” report showed. The number of international graduate students in the United States, more than 467,000, hit an all-time high.

The Details

Undergraduate enrollments, by contrast, rose much more modestly, by just 1 percent, to 347,600. However, this is the first time in five years that the number of foreign undergraduates increased.

The number of students taking part in Optional Practical Training, the popular work program for international graduates of American colleges, also climbed, by 8 percent. (Because participants in the training program remain on student visas, they are counted in the annual international-student census.)

Mirka Martel, head of research, evaluation, and learning for the institute, said graduate enrollments “spiked faster” post-pandemic for several reasons. Graduate students are older and more likely to make independent decisions, while parents may have wanted to keep younger undergraduates closer to home because of health and safety concerns. The impact of pent-up demand can also be felt more quickly in shorter academic offerings than in four-year bachelor’s programs. International enrollments in master’s programs took an especially big jump, 37 percent.

Martel said she would be watching to see if the current data augur longer-term shifts in global mobility, with more students earning undergraduate degrees in their home countries and waiting to go abroad for advanced study. For much of the past decade, undergraduate enrollments outpaced graduate enrollments at American colleges.

The other explanation, in a word: India. Enrollments from India, where two of three students are pursuing graduate degrees, shot up by 35 percent from the previous year.

A record number of Indian students, almost 269,000, studied in the United States. Still, China edged out India as the top-sending country in the “Open Doors” report, with 289,500 students on American campuses. Chinese enrollments, however, were stagnant.

Regionally, sub-Saharan Africa had the biggest increase in enrollments, up by 18 percent. Two countries in the region, Nigeria and Ghana,, were among the top 25 sending countries.

The Backdrop

The strong growth is a reversal from the pandemic years. New enrollments for international students fell more steeply during the Covid outbreak than for any other demographic group.

ADVERTISEMENT

International enrollments have largely rebounded, with total student numbers slightly below their pre-pandemic level. The number of foreign students also increased, by 4 percent, in the 2021-22 academic year.

Still, the focus on the pandemic can obscure some of the other headwinds facing American colleges, including geopolitical tensions, demographic and economic shifts, improved educational capacity in students’ home countries, increasing competition for global talent from other destination countries, and a perception that the United States is less than welcoming to outsiders.

New international enrollments had declined in the four years before the pandemic. And while the United States remains the top destination for students from overseas, it has lost ground, falling from 28 percent of all globally mobile students in 2001 to just 15 percent today.

A new coalition of education organizations, advocacy groups, and think tanks is pushing for a coordinated national strategy to reassert the United States as the leading destination for global talent, as well as to ensure the success of foreign students on American campuses and establish immigration pathways to help retain top international graduates.

The Stakes

Yet international students may be more important to American higher education now than at any other time. Their presence on campus exposes their American classmates to different cultures and perspectives, a crucial skill for navigating a global workplace.

ADVERTISEMENT

Colleges have come to rely on international students, who often pay the full cost of their tuition, as a critical source of revenue. As the number of college-age Americans declines, they could help stave off the enrollment effects of the demographic cliff. Already, one in five graduate students is from overseas, according to the Council of Graduate Schools.

Their impact is not simply confined to campus. International students contributed more than $40 billion to the American economy, supporting some 368,000 jobs, according to new estimates from NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

What to Watch for

The good news is that the growth is expected to continue. In a snapshot survey, administered this fall by the Institute of International Education and several partner organizations, colleges reported an 8-percent increase in international students.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nine in 10 institutions said they plan to expand their overseas enrollments over the next five years. The 630 colleges that responded to the snapshot survey account for 57 percent of all international students on American campuses.

A separate Chronicle analysis of real-time visa data tracked a 9-percent bump in student visas issued for the fall of 2023. That figure includes a sizable increase in visas to both Indian and Chinese students, although India overtook China to become the top source of foreign students in the United States. One challenge for colleges will be to diversify international recruitment beyond those traditional source countries.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
International Admissions & Enrollment Finance & Operations
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Fischer_Karin.jpg
About the Author
Karin Fischer
Karin Fischer writes about international education and the economic, cultural, and political divides around American colleges. She’s on the social-media platform X @karinfischer, and her email address is karin.fischer@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Photo illustration showing Santa Ono seated, places small in the corner of a dark space
'Unrelentingly Sad'
Santa Ono Wanted a Presidency. He Became a Pariah.
Illustration of a rushing crowd carrying HSI letters
Seeking precedent
Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions Is Discriminatory and Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Argues
Photo-based illustration of scissors cutting through paper that is a photo of an idyllic liberal arts college campus on one side and money on the other
Finance
Small Colleges Are Banding Together Against a Higher Endowment Tax. This Is Why.
Pano Kanelos, founding president of the U. of Austin.
Q&A
One Year In, What Has ‘the Anti-Harvard’ University Accomplished?

From The Review

Photo- and type-based illustration depicting the acronym AAUP with the second A as the arrow of a compass and facing not north but southeast.
The Review | Essay
The Unraveling of the AAUP
By Matthew W. Finkin
Photo-based illustration of the Capitol building dome propped on a stick attached to a string, like a trap.
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Can’t Trust the Federal Government. What Now?
By Brian Rosenberg
Illustration of an unequal sign in black on a white background
The Review | Essay
What Is Replacing DEI? Racism.
By Richard Amesbury

Upcoming Events

Plain_Acuity_DurableSkills_VF.png
Why Employers Value ‘Durable’ Skills
Warwick_Leadership_Javi.png
University Transformation: a Global Leadership Perspective
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin