The Institute of International Education recently released Open Doors report 2020. The report contains information and data from the 2019-20 academic year regarding international students studying in the United States, and data from 2018-19 for U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit.
St. Thomas has the most international students (689) among private universities in Minnesota and remains fourth in the state overall for international enrollment. St. Thomas currently ranks 13th in the nation for undergraduate study abroad participation at doctoral institutions (with 803 students abroad, up from 17th in the nation in the prior year), and the top in Minnesota.
“Increasing international student presence on campus combined with continued excellence in facilitating student study abroad experiences remain integral to the university’s strategic goals,” said Associate Vice Provost for Global Learning and Strategy Dr. Tim Lewis. “Our commitment to ‘All for the Common Good’ includes strengthening our international connections. These student and community outcomes are essential to producing graduates who are relevant in the global community.” Lewis also thanked the incredible work of his staff through the past year of turbulence. “They kept their focus on the students and our programs while the pandemic shrunk our world. They increased international enrollments and created new international offerings through creativity and hard work.”
With 15,378 international students studying in Minnesota for the 2019-20 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 over $450 million in revenue to the state.
Total international enrollment across the country decreased by 1.8% to 1,075,496 students, while the number of new international students enrolling for the first time in U.S. institutions fell by less than 1% (from 269,383 in 2018-19 to 267,712 in 2019-20).
The total number of Minnesota college students studying abroad was 8,716 with the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and Germany being top study abroad locations for U.S. college students.
