当前美国高等教育机构国际学生趋势研究报告

About IIE As an independent, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit founded in 1919, the mission of theInstitute of International Education (IIE) is to help people and organizationsleverage the power of international education to thrive in today’sinterconnected world. IIE’s work focuses on advancing scholarship, buildingeconomies, and promoting access to opportunity. IIE publications and whitepapers can be found at https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Publications About IC3 Institute The IC3 Institute, established in 2018, is a non-profit organization that aims toprovide counseling and support to high schools worldwide through guidanceand training resources. The IC3 Institute assists high schools globally byempowering educators, teachers, and counselors to establish strong careerand college counseling departments. The IC3 Institute facilitates collaborationamong high schools, colleges, universities, and industries to ensure earlycareer and college counseling access. The IC3 Institute provides no-costprograms to educators, and operates as a think tank, conducting researchand contributing thought leadership on global higher education and careerreadiness, actively shaping students' futures worldwide. ic3institute.org We would like to thank the individuals and organizations who contributed tothis paper through interviews, research, and sharing their knowledge. Table of contents Introduction2Keyfindings3MethodologyApplicantprofile1.Academiclevel2.Placeoforigin3.FieldofstudyInstitutionalperspective1.Factorsaffectingapplicationnumbers2.Factorscontributingtostableordiminishedgrowtha.Outreachandrecruitmentb.Institutionalfactorsc.ExternaltrendsExpandingcapacityLimitationsandfutureresearchConclusionReferences2356671013141717181819202122 Introduction Anticipated changes to the future of work emphasize a new relationshipbetween higher education and employers to prepare students for theircareers. The way students perceive the jobs of the future and select theirchoice of study is shaped by technological advances such as the use of BigData and the surge of Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with the environmentalimpacts caused by climate change. Science, technology, engineering, andmathematics (STEM) careers are expected to influence the job market, withthe World Economic ForumFuture of Jobs Report(2023)finding thatemployers foresee AI and machine learning specialists as the fastest-growingjob markets, followed by business intelligence specialists and informationintelligence specialists. Research shows that individuals seeking to migratecan maximize their potential earnings within a STEM career by obtaining adegree in their host country (Boyd & Tian, 2018). This positive outcome may bedue to higher quality education, employer recognition of internationaldegrees and academic credentials, development of skills relevant to the hostcountry’s job market, or creation of a professional network in the host country(ibid.). This changing reality is evident in student mobility trends, with more than 6.4million students crossing a border to pursue tertiary education in 2020,double the number from 2007 (UNESCO, 2023). However, many internationalstudents are focused on similarfields of study. In 2022, 14 Project Atlaspartners reported that 47 percent of the international students hosted bythese countries pursued STEMfields, with another 21 percent pursuingstudies in business and management (Martel et al., 2023). The proportion ofinternational students pursuing STEMfields grew by six percentage points,from 41 percent in 2017, driven by larger numbers of international studentsstudying math, and computer science, and health professions. International student enrollment has increased since the COVID-19 pandemicin the United States, reaching 1,057,188 international students in the 2022/23academic year, marking the fastest one-year growth rate in more than 40years (Martel et al., 2023). More than half (55 percent) of international studentsenrolled at U.S. higher education institutions are in STEM programs, withmath and computer science followed by engineering as the leadingfields ofstudy. The United States has attracted increasing numbers of internationalstudents in the STEMfields through post-graduation work opportunities,most notably STEM Optional Practical Training, which grants students workauthorization up to 36 months after completing their degree. Since international students comprise only six percent of the total U.S. highereducation population, there continues to be capacity to host internationalstudents at the nearly 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities. This exploratory research positions itself within the context of a changingfuture of work that favors STEM careers. It seeks to understand howinstitutions are affected by changes in demand for STEM programs and howthese shifts influence institutional recruitment practices. This study exploredthe profile of international student STEM applicants to the United States. Itconcludes