Colleges and universities in the United States are still a popular study destination for Chinese students, with nearly 290 thousand choosing to take courses there in the 2022/23 academic year. Although numbers were heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic, China is still the leading source of international students in the U.S. education market, accounting for 27.4 percent of all incoming students.
The education exodus
Mathematics and computer science courses led the field in terms of what Chinese students were studying in the United States, followed by engineering and business & management programs. The vast majority of Chinese students were self-funded, wth the remainder receiving state-funding to complete their overseas studies. Tuition fees can run into the tens of thousands of U.S. dollars, as foreign students usually pay out-of-state tuition fees.
What about the local situation?
Although studying abroad attracts many Chinese students, the country itself boasts the largest state-run education system in the world. With modernization of the national tertiary education system being a top priority for the Chinese government, the country has seen a significant increase in the number of local universities over the last decade. Enrolments in these universities exceeded 36 million in 2022, and a record of nearly ten million students graduated in the same year, indicating that China's education market is still expanding.
Number of college and university students from China in the United States from academic year 2012/13 to 2022/23
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Open Doors. (November 14, 2023). Number of college and university students from China in the United States from academic year 2012/13 to 2022/23 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 05, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/372900/number-of-chinese-students-that-study-in-the-us/
Open Doors. "Number of college and university students from China in the United States from academic year 2012/13 to 2022/23." Chart. November 14, 2023. Statista. Accessed November 05, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/372900/number-of-chinese-students-that-study-in-the-us/
Open Doors. (2023). Number of college and university students from China in the United States from academic year 2012/13 to 2022/23. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 05, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/372900/number-of-chinese-students-that-study-in-the-us/
Open Doors. "Number of College and University Students from China in The United States from Academic Year 2012/13 to 2022/23." Statista, Statista Inc., 14 Nov 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/372900/number-of-chinese-students-that-study-in-the-us/
Open Doors, Number of college and university students from China in the United States from academic year 2012/13 to 2022/23 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/372900/number-of-chinese-students-that-study-in-the-us/ (last visited November 05, 2024)
Number of college and university students from China in the United States from academic year 2012/13 to 2022/23 [Graph], Open Doors, November 14, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/372900/number-of-chinese-students-that-study-in-the-us/