New Student Enrollment in the US Rebounded by 80% in 2021/22

The latest Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors data is out with many positive trends. New enrollment nearly returned to pre-pandemic numbers.¹ This enabled a strong total enrollment rebound for the American international education sector. And the international student body in the US grew more diverse in 2021/22.

In the first of a two-part series, we delve into the latest US enrollment trends for study levels and fields of study. Stay tuned for a deep dive into source market trends in the coming days.

Enrollment in Graduate Studies Driving International Education Sector Recovery

The pandemic caused a large drop in both total and new enrollment in the US in 2020/21. We’re excited to see that the sector recovered strongly in 2021/22:

The American international education sector welcomed nearly 262,000 new students in 2021/22. This was a growth of 80% compared to the massive drop in 2020/21, and only 2% below the pre-pandemic 2019/2020 academic year.

The graduate level boomed with new students in 2021/22. In fact, the number of new student enrollments at the graduate level reached an all-time high. The 146,000 new graduate students surpassed the previous high—set in 2015/16—by 16%,² and increased by 122% compared to 2020/21. This growth in new students led to the total enrollment in graduate studies surpassing enrollment at the undergraduate level for the first time since 2010/11.

The increased number of new students helped contribute to an overall rise of international students in the US: the total number of international students was up 4% in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21. Even more exciting, the 763,700 international students enrolled in 2021/22 surpassed 2020/21 levels by 8%. However, students in Optional Practical Training (OPT) fell to 184,700, a decline of 9% from 2020/21. The last two academic years were the first time that OPT numbers dropped year-over-year since 2000/01. Given the pandemic-related global uncertainty of these past two years and the ongoing high demand for career placements, expect this decline to be an outlier and for the trend to reverse in the coming years.

Undergraduate and Non-Degree Levels Leave Room to Grow

While the number of new graduate students is really positive, the undergraduate and non-degree levels remain areas with room for development. In 2021/22, new student enrollment at the graduate level was up 22% compared to the pre-pandemic 2019/20 academic year. Over the same period, new enrollment at the undergraduate level was down 14% while the non-degree level was down 42%. What’s more, 2019/20 was already mired by an ongoing downward trend, with new enrollment dropping at the undergraduate level for the fourth straight year and at the non-degree level for the fifth straight year.

The downward trend may be turning. New undergraduate enrollments surpassed 90,000 in 2021/22, up 31% compared to 2020/21. New non-degree enrollments, on the other hand, reached nearly 25,000, up 142% over the same period. And 2022/23 looks to be building on this. According to the IIE’s Spring 2022 Snapshot released in June, 65% of responding institutions reported an increase in applications for the 2022/23 academic year, including 68% of community colleges, 51% of liberal arts colleges, and 45% of special focus institutions.

An Opportunity to Secure a Competitive Advantage by Investing in Student Support Structures

The increased applications in 2022 shows renewed interest in an American education from international students. But the macroeconomic trends could lead to deferrals, particularly at the undergraduate level. The following chart shows the percentage of students relying on personal savings by study level:

Historically, more than 80% of undergraduate international students in the US rely on personal or family savings as their primary source of funding. With a global recession looming over 2023 and the strong American dollar impacting the sector, international students will generally find that their home currency no longer goes as far stateside as it once did.

Now is a great opportunity for institutions and policy makers to invest in student support structures. ApplyBoard’s second annual trends report shows that the international education sector is entering an era of greater student choice. The key takeaway from the trends report was that the countries and institutions that succeed in bringing in top talent will be those that prioritize student success.

The American sector could leverage the strong USD to invest in student support structures, such as developing more affordable housing and meal plans. Student housing shortages persist in many destination markets.³ Utilizing the strength of the USD to reduce barriers could help the US secure an unprecedented competitive advantage over other destination markets.

Likewise, the sector could leverage the strong US dollar to build on services for career guidance and support. As mentioned in ApplyBoard’s trends report, surveys of prospective international students show that, across four of five priority markets for US institutions, cost of living was the number one concern.⁴ Investments that assure international students that their study experience will help them achieve their career goals would build bridges with prospective students around the world. Increasing the US’s reputation as a strong, student-friendly environment could prove invaluable for student recruitment in the future.

Math and Computer Science Takes the Top Field of Study Spot

Fields of study relating to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continued to dominate what international students gravitated toward in the American education sector:

Math and computer science saw a momentous rise of international students from 2015 through 2019. The field rebounded strongly after dropping during the pandemic, growing by 10% in 2021/22 compared to the previous year. This growth was enough to knock engineering out of the top spot for the first time since 2015/16.

STEM fields—math and computer science, engineering, physical and life sciences, and health professions—accounted for 53% of international students in the US in 2021/22. This was up three percentage points over 2019/2020. And future academic years might see this percentage grow further, as the US expanded OPT opportunities for international students studying STEM in early 2022.

Developing Health Professionals Could be Key in Coming Decade

While STEM accounted for three of the top five fields of study in 2021/22, health professions remain primed for future growth. The 32,000 international students in health professions was a decline of 1% in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21, and a drop of 6% compared to 2015/16. And yet, there is currently a global shortage of healthcare professionals. This shortage is projected to increase during the coming decade, meaning the development of more healthcare professionals will be critical for destination markets.

ApplyBoard’s exclusive internal data shows that student search interest in health sciences and other related fields has grown over the past three years.

Advancing age-friendly initiatives could be a key strategy for welcoming more students into health professions. Non-traditional students are those who are underrepresented at institutions, and older international students often face several barriers to accessing education.⁵ In our deep dive into fields of study in the UK, we found that Northern Ireland increased its first-year undergraduate enrollment in health, physical, and life sciences by 1,844% in 2020/21 compared to 2018/19, reaching nearly 5,400.⁶ More than 4,700 of those students were aged 25 and over and enrolled in subjects allied to medicine at Ulster University, which was recognized as Northern Ireland’s first age-friendly university. Becoming more age-friendly could help American institutions see similar explosive growth among non-traditional students in a field desperate for new professionals.

Looking Forward

The year 2021/22 was an important, positive step for the US’s international education sector after it was hit hard by the pandemic in 2020/21. International student enrollment grew, new highs were set at the graduate level, and several fields of study rebounded strongly. And signs point to a positive 2023 and beyond. However, the sector should also acutely follow the impact that global macroeconomic trends could have on student budgets and decision-making. If American institutions and policy-makers can leverage the strong USD to invest in and develop student-oriented support structures, the sector could see even more of a renewed boom.

Stay tuned for more US enrollment data, as we’ll dive into the latest source market trends in the coming days.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. All data courtesy of the Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors Report.

2. Enrollment counts students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree studies. New enrollment counts only newly-enrolled students in 2021/22. Total counts all students in the US: enrolled students, and students in OPT.

3. The Chronicle, Why This Fall’s Campus Housing Shortages Could Be Different. July 2022.

4. Quacarelli Symonds (QS), US International Student Survey 2022. June 30, 2022.

5. The Conversation, Mature students in universities face 3 kinds of barriers — here’s how to address them. August 2022.

6. Data courtesy of HESA. Data for 2021/22 not yet available.