The Institute of International Education recently released Open Doors Report 2019. The report contains information and data from the 2018-19 academic year regarding international students studying in the United States, and data from 2017-18 for U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit.
St. Thomas has the most international students (705) among private universities in Minnesota and remains fourth in the state overall for international enrollment. St. Thomas currently ranks 17th in the nation for undergraduate study abroad participation at doctoral institutions (772 students), and the top in Minnesota.
“The just-released Institute for International Education Open Doors annual report on international students in the United States and outbound students studying abroad shows the University of St. Thomas’ continuing commitment to comprehensive internationalization,” Associate Vice Provost for Global Learning and Strategy Tim Lewis said. “Internationalization helps our community embrace differences, learn from each other and increase intercultural awareness. The successes grow from the commitment of St. Thomas faculty and staff to leading courses abroad and rely upon the whole community welcoming international students to campus.
“Open Doors data show University of St. Thomas remained in the top 20, and the highest ranked in Minnesota, for all doctoral institutions for the percentage of our students who study abroad, just under 60 percent,” Lewis continued. “This excellent ranking does not include our students who study off campus on domestic programs through the Office of Study Abroad. While nationally the number of international students studying in the United States fell again for the third year in a row, we held steady with 705 international students from 71 countries. We are again the top private university in Minnesota, and fourth for all universities in our state for our number of international students. While justifiably pleased with those results, this past year we also initiated a Pathway Program and we enlisted faculty and administrators in our international recruiting efforts. These accomplishments depend upon the dedicated staff in the Office of International Students and Scholars, International Admissions and the Office of Study Abroad, and St. Thomas can be proud of this team.”
With 15,279 international students studying in Minnesota for the 2018-19 academic year, the state once again ranked 19th in the nation for its total number of foreign students. The leading places of origin for international students in Minnesota include China, India, South Korea, Nepal and Vietnam. It is estimated international students in Minnesota brought in close to $500 million in revenue to the state.
Total international enrollment across the country grew slightly by 0.05% to 1,095,299 students, while the number of new international students enrolling for the first time in U.S. institutions fell by less than 1% (from 271,738 in 2017-18 to 269,383 in 2018-19).
The total number of Minnesota college students studying abroad was 8,490 with the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and Germany being top study abroad locations for U.S. college students.
An International Celebration Fair will be held on Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Anderson Student Center’s Father Dorsey Way.
St. Thomas’ 2019-20 international student enrollment by the numbers:
