SCIENCE & ENGINEERING INDICATORS

In the 1990s, many countries, coming to view an educated population and workforce as a valuable national resource, began to expand their higher education systems. Flows of students worldwide increased, often reflecting government incentives and programs. More recently, several countries have adopted policies to encourage the return of students who studied abroad, attract international students, or both. Students who enroll in tertiary (postsecondary) institutions outside their own countries have opportunities to expand their knowledge of other societies and languages and improve their employability in globalized labor markets.

This section provides data on international students in U.S. institutions (enrollment and degrees earned) and the U.S. position in higher education within a global context. The data show a recent decline in overall international student enrollment in U.S. institutions. Data on degree awards, however, show that more foreign students continue to earn U.S. S&E degrees.^{​There may be a time lag between patterns observed in enrollment data and those observed in degree data. Degrees take several years to earn, and not all enrolled students earn degrees.} Foreign students on temporary visas earn a substantial proportion of U.S. doctoral degrees in S&E fields such as engineering, computer sciences, and economics. The global emphasis on building S&E capabilities is evident in international data: China has seen a rapid increase in its S&E degree production over time, compared with a more moderate rise in the United States and the EU.

In fall 2018, about 804,400 international students enrolled in degree programs in U.S. higher education institutions (Table 2-3).^{​Data in this section come from the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which collects administrative data, including numbers of international students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States. Data include students enrolled in associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs whose status is listed as “active” in the SEVIS database on 15 November of each year. Those participating in optional practical training (OPT) are excluded. Data on OPT students are provided by the Institute of International Education’s annual Open Doors report, which constitutes another valuable source of information on international students in the United States and related topics.} Although these students possess citizenship from 225 countries or economies of origin, 4 countries—China, India, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia—were the top senders of undergraduate and graduate students, accounting for more than half of the total (Figure 2-14).

Between 2017 and 2018, the number of international students declined by about 4,000 (less than 1%).^{​This finding is generally consistent with the Institute of International Education’s Fall 2018 International Student Enrollment Hot Topics Survey, which noted a 1.7% decline in 2018 enrollments below 2017 levels in the 540 institutions surveyed: https://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data/Fall-International-Enrollments-Snapshot-Reports.} This represents a second year of decline but is smaller than the decline of about 31,500 students (nearly 4%) between 2016 and 2017. Underlying this overall decline is a mixed picture that varies by student level, field of study, and country of origin.

In 2018, just over half of all international students were enrolled at the undergraduate level (mostly in bachelor’s degree programs). Between 2017 and 2018, the number of international undergraduate students declined (by about 5,500 or just over 1%); however, the number studying S&E fields increased (by about 2,500 or just over 1%), after holding essentially flat between 2016 and 2017 (Table 2-3, Figure 2-15). The rise in S&E enrollment was driven by rising enrollment in science; by contrast, enrollment declined in engineering for the second year in a row (Table S2-13). Among the top five countries sending undergraduates to study engineering, only Vietnam saw consistent increases in the numbers over the last 2 years (Table S2-13).^{​India’s numbers rose by about 4% from 2016 to 2017 and remained essentially the same in 2018. China’s numbers declined by 11%. South Korea saw a 16% decline (to 2,300), and Saudi Arabia saw a decline of 37% (to 7,000).}

Unlike undergraduate enrollment, international graduate student enrollment rose slightly from 2017 to 2018 (from 368,000 to 369,000) after a considerable decline (6%) between 2016 and 2017.^{​Other surveys also indicate declines during this period, particularly in first-time enrollment (Institute of International Education 2018; NCSES GSS 2017; Okahana and Zhou 2018, 2019).} The number studying S&E fields also increased (by 2%) (Table 2-3). Although these increases do not erase the declines of the previous year, they call into question whether those declines represent a trend. As is the case for undergraduates, the rise in S&E graduate enrollment was driven by those studying science fields, whose numbers increased back to 2016 levels. The number of those studying engineering, however, declined for the second year in a row. Since 2016, countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia have seen declines in the numbers of graduate students, especially in engineering. But China and India, and the contrast between them, dominate the story because of the large numbers of students from those countries who study in the United States (Figure 2-16, Table S2-14).

The number of Chinese S&E graduate students at U.S. institutions has increased by more than 8,000 (11%) since 2016, with the largest gains in computer sciences and mathematics and statistics. India’s numbers, during the same interval, declined sharply, by nearly 21,000 (22%). In 2016, India sent the most students to study engineering, surpassing China by nearly 9,000. China has now surpassed India as the largest sender of graduate students in engineering, largely due to a major reduction in the number of Indian engineering graduate students (a 28% decline) during this interval.

Students in the United States on temporary visas have consistently earned a small share (around 4%–6%) of S&E bachelor’s degrees, although their total number more than doubled from 17,000 in 2009 to nearly 42,000 in 2017 (Table S2-7). In 2017, temporary visa holders earned a disproportionately large share of bachelor’s degrees awarded in economics (18%), mathematics and statistics (17%), and engineering (10%). S&E fields account for nearly half (46%) of the bachelor’s degrees earned by students on temporary visas.^{​Between 2009 and 2017, the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents earning bachelor’s degrees increased from about 1.6 million to 1.9 million (by about 20%). In 2017, around one-third of bachelor’s degrees awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents were in S&E fields.}

Students on temporary visas are earning increasing shares of U.S. master’s degrees: 18% in 2017 compared with 12% in 2012 (Table S2-9; their total number increased from about 90,000 to more than 145,000 during this period).^{​During this interval, the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents earning master’s degrees remained essentially flat (between 650,000 and 670,000).} Similar to bachelor’s degrees, a considerable share of the master’s degrees earned by students on temporary visas are in S&E fields (56% in 2017, up from 46% in 2012).

Trends at the doctoral level have remained stable for a longer time (Table S2-11). In 2017, students on temporary visas earned about one-quarter of U.S. doctorates awarded across all fields and one-third of those awarded in S&E, around the same as in 2008 (the total numbers for both groups have risen only modestly over the last 10 years). This relatively stable trend is also observed across all broad S&E fields, where the shares of doctorates awarded to temporary visa holders did not change much over the last 10 years.^{​During the same time, the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents earning S&E doctorates increased from about 27,500 to about 30,000.}

Temporary visa holders earn half or more of U.S. doctoral degrees in certain S&E fields. In 2017, temporary visa holders earned 57% of doctorates in engineering, reflecting a long-standing pattern. They also earned most doctorates in computer sciences (56%) and economics (59%), as well as nearly half of the doctorates in mathematics and statistics (49%) and physics (45%).

In terms of financing their doctoral education, S&E doctorate recipients on temporary visas were more likely to have an RA (49%) and less likely to use personal funds (2%) than their U.S. citizen and permanent resident peers (27% and 14%, respectively; see Table S2-3); this is a long-standing pattern.^{​More information on how international students, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, are funded is available from the Institute of International Education: https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data/International-Students/Primary-Source-of-Funding.}

Since 2000, U.S. universities have awarded nearly a quarter of a million doctorates to temporary visa holders, the vast majority (around 85%) in S&E fields. Over that time, the top three countries—China, India, and South Korea—accounted for just over half (54%) of all international recipients of S&E doctoral degrees, and the top 25 countries accounted for nearly 85% (Table 2-4, Figure 2-17). For 16 of the top 25 countries, more than 80% of the students who earn doctorates in the United States did so in S&E fields. For 15 of the top 25 countries, engineering is the most popular S&E field: engineering doctorates constitute nearly 35% of total doctoral degrees earned by Chinese students at U.S. universities, for example. For India, the figure is nearly 40%, and for Iran, it is nearly 70%.

Although students from South Korea earned only one-third of the number of doctorates earned by students from China between 2000 and 2017, they earned more non-S&E doctorates (about 5,500 for South Korea and 5,200 for China).

Canada and Mexico are in the top 10 countries where students earn doctorates in the United States. For Canadian students earning doctorates in the United States, the most popular S&E fields are biological and social sciences; for Mexican students, the most popular fields are engineering and social sciences.

Although 9 of the top 25 countries are European, only Turkey falls into the top 10. Students from Spain earn the highest percentage of doctorates in non-S&E fields of any of the top 25 countries, at more than 35%. Students from Russia and Romania focus heavily on physical sciences.

Between 2000 and 2008, the number of students earning doctorates at U.S. universities doubled to about 4,500 for China and nearly tripled to 2,300 for India. Since 2008, patterns for these two countries have diverged. Numbers of Chinese doctorate recipients have increased to nearly 5,600 in 2017. Numbers of Indian students have stayed relatively flat, with a slight decline over the last several years to about 2,000. South Korea saw an increase from about 1,000 students earning doctorates in the United States in 2000 to about 1,500 in 2009. Since then, numbers have slowly declined to about 1,100 in 2017. One other notable trend is an increase in the number of doctorate recipients from Iran, rising steadily from about 140 in 2008 to 770 in 2017 (see NCSES SED 2017: Table 26 and, for older trend data, NCSES SED 2010: Table 26).

Educational attainment, measured as the proportion of a population that has reached a specific level of education, is often used as a proxy for human capital and the skill levels associated with that level (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 2018a). Although the United States continues to have one of the highest percentages of the population ages 25–64 with a bachelor’s or higher degree, many countries have now surpassed the United States in the percentage of the younger population (ages 25–34) with these levels of education (Figure 2-18).^{​These data are based on the 2011 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and are not comparable with data presented in earlier volumes of S&E Indicators based on ISCED 1997. Data are based on national labor force surveys and are subject to sampling error; therefore, small differences among countries may not be meaningful (OECD 2018a).} Of 25- to 34-year-olds in the United States, 26% hold a bachelor’s degree, which is higher than the OECD average of 22%. However, only 12% attain education higher than a bachelor’s degree, which is lower than the OECD average of 15% (OECD 2018b). Moreover, the increase in attainment among younger people relative to older people so visible in many systems is not visible in the United States.

In the United States, there is large variation in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with a postsecondary degree (in international comparisons, this is often referred to as tertiary attainment).^{​For more information, see https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/isced-2011-operational-manual/tertiary-education_9789264228368-9-en.} There are differences between demographic groups (Snyder et al. Digest of Education Statistics 2017: Table 104.20 and Table 104.60). There is also geographic variation in the United States, with tertiary attainment levels ranging from a high of 73% in the District of Columbia to a low of 30% in Nevada (OECD 2018b). Parents’ levels of educational attainment also matter: 70% of 25- to 64-year-olds with at least one tertiary-educated parent have themselves attained tertiary education. Percentages are substantially lower for those with less-educated parents.

First university degrees are defined as terminal undergraduate degree programs (see the Glossary section for more detailed definition) and are often used in international comparisons to accommodate differences among countries in higher education systems. According to the most recent estimates, the United States awarded nearly 800,000 S&E first university degrees.^{​The international degree data presented in this report were obtained largely from OECD’s statistical database, OECD.Stat. For a few countries not available from OECD, as noted in the Supplemental Tables, data were obtained from Eurostat or from country-specific sources. Because of changes in the International Standard Classification of Education (more information about which is available in https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsb20181/assets/561/comparability-of-international-data-in-tertiary-education.pdf), data from 2000 to 2012 may not be strictly comparable with data from 2013 and subsequent years. Caution is warranted in interpreting time trends across this interval. For consistency and comparability, U.S. data as reported by OECD were used and may differ from U.S. data presented in other sections of this report. More detailed methodology notes on international first university degrees and international doctoral degree data are available in the Technical Appendix.,​For international degree comparisons between the United States and other countries, this report uses data as reported to OECD, which may differ from IPEDS.} The 28 EU members together produced nearly 1 million, with the top 6 EU members accounting for about 70% of the EU total.^{​These countries are The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, and Spain.} China produced 1.7 million S&E first university degrees in 2015, the most recent year for which data were available. The number of S&E first university degrees produced by China doubled over the last 10 years, while other degree-producing large countries have seen only modest increases (Figure 2-19, Table S2-15). Much of China’s increase has been in engineering, which accounted for nearly 70% of China’s S&E first university degrees in the most recent year available. India reports a figure even higher than China’s (4.6 million in 2016), with more than half (52%) of its S&E first university degrees in the social and behavioral sciences.^{​Time trend data for India are lacking. Additionally, India may combine International Standard Classification of Education levels 5 (associate’s-level degrees) and 6 (bachelor’s-level degrees) in its reporting, making comparisons with other countries difficult.}

S&E first university degrees as a proportion of all first university degrees vary across countries (Figure 2-20). For the United States, the figure is about 40%, lower than that of China, South Korea, and several European nations. Of the countries and economies displayed in Figure 2-20, the United States awards the highest percentage of degrees in social sciences (19%) but the lowest percentage in engineering (7%).

According to the most recent estimates, the United States awards the largest number of S&E doctoral degrees of any country (about 40,000), followed by China (about 34,000); Germany, India, and the United Kingdom (about 16,000 each); and Russia (about 14,000) (Table S2-16).^{​For international degree comparisons between the United States and other countries, this report uses data as reported to OECD, which may differ from IPEDS. Additionally, for international degree comparisons, S&E does not include medical or other health fields because international sources cannot separate the MD degrees from degrees in the health fields, and the MDs are professional or practitioner degrees, not research degrees.} Together, the European Union (EU) countries awarded more (about 77,000) S&E doctoral degrees than the United States; with the top six EU members accounting for 75% of the EU total.^{​These countries are Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Sweden.} Comparisons of doctoral degree production between the United States and other nations should include the consideration that a substantial number of U.S. S&E doctorate recipients are students on temporary visas.^{​In 2017, 34% of U.S. S&E doctorates were earned by students on temporary visas, according to IPEDS. Equivalent data are not available from OECD.} However, many of these doctorate recipients stay in the United States for subsequent employment after obtaining their degree. (For a discussion on “stay rates” of foreign recipients of U.S. doctoral degrees, see the forthcoming Science and Engineering Indicators 2020 report “Science and Engineering Labor Force.”)

The number of S&E doctoral degrees awarded in China rose from 2000 to 2009, when the increase slowed (Figure 2-21). In 2007, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced that China would begin to limit admissions to doctoral programs and focus more on the quality of graduate education (Mooney 2007). When comparing only natural sciences and engineering doctoral degrees, China surpassed the United States as the world’s largest producer in 2007 and has remained so ever since (in 2015, China awarded 32,000 doctorates in these fields; the United States awarded 30,000).

In the United States, and in France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, the largest numbers of S&E doctoral degrees were awarded in natural sciences (Figure 2-22, Table S2-16). In other countries and economies, the proportion of S&E doctoral degrees in engineering is greater; for China, South Korea, and Taiwan, for example, more than 50% of S&E doctorates are awarded in engineering.

Internationally mobile students are those who have crossed a national or territorial border for purposes of education and are now enrolled outside their countries of origin. Students become increasingly mobile at more advanced levels of education. Globally, international students account for only 6% of total enrollment in higher education, but they represent 26% of enrollment in doctoral programs (OECD 2018a). International students also favor S&E fields: globally, one-third of them were enrolled in S&E fields in 2016. As shown in earlier sections, these trends are also observed among international students in U.S. institutions.^{​Higher education institutions have also opened increasing numbers of campuses in other countries. Data on international branch campuses is maintained by the Cross-Border Education Research Team (http://cbert.org/), and the most recent available data were reviewed in Indicators 2018: Chapter 2.}

More internationally mobile students (undergraduate and graduate) come to the United States than to any other country (19% of internationally mobile students worldwide) (Figure 2-23).^{​Data on internationally mobile students come from UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics. More information on the data is available at http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/education-statistics-faqs-2018-en.pdf. Project Atlas from the Institute of International Education is another valuable resource on international student mobility, including trends in U.S. students who earn degrees abroad (https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Project-Atlas).} Other top destinations for international students include the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, and Russia. The top 20 destination countries in 2016 together received about 75% of internationally mobile students worldwide.^{​For data on U.S. students studying abroad, see Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report.} China is also an increasingly attractive destination for globally mobile students.^{​See Project Atlas from the Institute of International Education: https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Project-Atlas.}

The U.S. share of worldwide internationally mobile students has declined slightly over time, reflecting several factors. The number of internationally mobile students in higher education worldwide has risen dramatically, from 2 million in 1999 to 5 million in 2016 (OECD 2018a). China and India send the most students abroad: their combined share of outbound internationally mobile students rose from 19% in 2008 to 23% in 2017. Another factor is increasing competition among countries for international students: some have set targets for attracting certain numbers. Countries like Australia and Canada have recently reported double-digit growth in international students.^{​See https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/publications/statistics-report-teqsa-registered-higher-education-providers-2018. Numbers reported by other sources, for instance, for Canada (available at https://cbie.ca/international-students-surpass-2022-goal/), may differ from those in Figure 2-23, which are from UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS). One possible reason for the discrepancy is that UIS data cover students who pursue higher education degrees outside their country of origin and do not include students who are under short-term for-credit study and exchange programs that last less than a full academic year. For more information, see https://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Project-Atlas/FAQs#Q6.}