The report also highlights the shift in dominant countries, with India surpassing China in U.S. graduate enrollment, primarily due to a surge in applications for master’s degrees.
The report also highlights the shift in dominant countries, with India surpassing China in U.S. graduate enrollment, primarily due to a surge in applications for master’s degrees.
View / Download the complete report here.
A recent report from the Council of Graduate Schools reveals a resurgence in international graduate student enrollment in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic onset. This rejuvenation is significantly influenced by a growing preference for U.S. education in newer countries and regions.
The report presents an 8-percent increase in first-time enrollment from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022, along with a robust 26-percent growth in international graduate applications. Further, there was a striking 100-percent surge in enrollment, propelled by international students flocking to the US after pandemic-related deferrals in 2020.
Distinctively, enrollment in doctoral programs among international students grew by 9.7 percent since the Fall of 2018, the only category to show an upward trend during the pandemic. Since Fall 2020, enrollments in master’s and certificate programs have grown, from 95,716 in Fall 2021 to 122,328 in Fall 2022.
Source: Council of Graduate Schools: International Graduate Applications and Enrollment Fall 2022
At the same time, enrollments in doctoral programs increased, from 73,809 to 75,666 students. This rise in enrolment for both sorts of degrees is most likely the result of a mix of good overseas enrollment trends from major growing regions across the world and ongoing recovery in the post-COVID education landscape.
While Chinese and Indian students remain dominant in U.S. graduate studies applications, accounting for 63 percent of all applications in fall 2022, the scenario is rapidly changing. Application rates from China dropped by 19 percent since the Fall pf 2020, whereas Indian applications witnessed a whopping 94-percent growth. Other notable increases came from Sub-Saharan Africa (147 percent) and Iran (91 percent), boosting the corresponding enrollment rates significantly.
Source: Council of Graduate Schools: International Graduate Applications and Enrollment Fall 2022
The year 2020 was pivotal for India, as it surpassed China in U.S. graduate enrollment, boasting over 24,000 students, a staggering increase of 430 percent following a pre-pandemic decline of 14 percent. This spike in Indian enrollment is largely ascribed to the pursuit of master’s degrees, constituting 85 percent of all admissions in Fall 2022. Meanwhile, Chinese enrollment dwindled, potentially affected by increased geopolitical tensions, domestic legislative measures, hate crime incidents, and rising competition from the UK.
Source: Council of Graduate Schools: International Graduate Applications and Enrollment Fall 2022
The post-pandemic period has seen certain disciplines gaining popularity among international students. Math and computer science, engineering, and various “other fields” (including architecture, environmental design, journalism, and homeland security) have witnessed marked increases in enrollment since fall 2020, with percentage changes of 200 percent, 131 percent, and 93 percent, respectively.
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