WASHINGTON — There are nearly 1.2 million international students with F (academic) or M (vocational) status studying in the United States according to the latest “SEVIS by the Numbers,” a quarterly report on international student trends prepared by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The report, released Friday by SEVP, highlights March 2016 data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-based system that includes information about international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States.
Based on data extracted from SEVIS March 7, international student enrollment at U.S. schools increased 6.2 percent compared to March 2015. In March, there were 8,687 U.S. schools with SEVP certification to enroll international students, a three percent decrease from the previous year.
Forty percent of international students studying in the United States, equaling almost 479,000 individuals, were enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) coursework. Approximately 417,000 international students from Asia pursued STEM studies, an increase of 17 percent since March 2015.
The March report includes a special section about M students in the United States. In March, more than 75 percent of the M student population was male. Canada was the only country, out of the top ten countries of origin, where the majority of M students, at 51 percent, were female. Male students from China comprised 23 percent of the total M student population. Sixty-four percent of M students majored in transportation and materials moving, with a focus on air, ground or marine transportation.
Among U.S. schools, New York University, the University of Southern California, Northeastern University, Columbia University and the University of Illinois rank one through five for schools with the highest international student populations. More than 10,000 international students were enrolled at each school in March.
Other key points from the report include: 77 percent of all international students were from Asia. The top 10 countries of citizenship for international students included: China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Brazil and Mexico.
353,069 students from China are currently enrolled in American universities and colleges, up 7.9% from the same period last year.
