Studying abroad in the United States is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in the United States. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students. Studying abroad is determined in the United States by political rationales of national security and foreign policy. The number of students studying abroad represents only about 1% of all students enrolled at institutions of higher education in the United States.
While the majority of foreign students who study in the United States are pursuing a full degree, most outgoing U.S. students study abroad for one or two academic terms. The majority of US students now choose short-term study abroad programs according to the most recent Institute of International Education Open Doors Report. In the 2008–09 academic year, the five countries US students chose to study abroad in most were the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, and China. The total number of US students studying abroad during 2008–2009 was 260,327, compared to 262,416 the previous year, a modest decline of 0.8%. In the 2011–2012 academic year 283,332 US students opted to study abroad, a 0.9% increase from 2008–2009; however, US students who choose to study abroad represent only 1% of all students enrolled in higher education institutions. The Open Doors report is published annually by the Institute of International Education with funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. However, the report found that there were notable increases in the number of U.S. students going to study in less traditional destinations. Fifteen of the top 25 destinations were outside of Western Europe and nineteen were countries where English is not a primary language.
In 2012, 764,495 international students studied in the United States. During the same time period, 274,000 US students studied abroad. This imbalance has been referred to as an "international education deficit".
While the data from the Open Doors Report is still wide-ranging, it is not entirely inclusive of all study abroad student data that had previously been included in the annual reports. As of 2013, according to the Open Doors' FAQs regarding the question of 'Who is counted in the U.S. Study Abroad survey?': "students who travel and take courses abroad that are not tracked by their home institution are not reported in Open Doors, nor are students who are enrolled overseas for full degrees from non-U.S. institutions."
History
The University of Delaware is credited with creating the first study abroad program designed for U.S. undergraduate students in the 1920s.
A few decades later, Professor Raymond W. Kirkbride of the University of Delaware, a French professor and World War I veteran, won support from university president Walter S. Hullihen to send students to study in France in their junior year. UD initially refused to fund Kirkbride's travels, and he and Hullihen appealed to prominent public and private figures for support including then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover and businessman Pierre S. du Pont. Kirkbride set sail for on July 7, 1923, with eight students for six weeks of intensive language courses in Nancy, France, before moving on to Paris to study at The Sorbonne. The Delaware Foreign Study Plan, which came to be known as the Junior Year Abroad (JYA), was considered a success and was replicated by other U.S. institutions such as Smith College. In 1948, the Delaware Foreign Study Plan was discontinued due to post-war conditions in Europe and shifting priorities under a new university president. It has since been re-instated in the form of their current study abroad program.
Due to COVID-19 and the restrictions, there was a significant drop of 72% for new international students enrolling to schools in US compared to 2019.
Education and expenses for the students primarily comes from personal or family source, foreign government, or overseas sponsors. The decline in influx of the international students coming to US has caused an economic loss of $1.17 billion to United States.
Trend
Despite flat overall study abroad numbers, there were notable increases in the numbers of U.S. students going to some of the less traditional destinations for study abroad in 2008/09. Double digit increases to host countries among the top 25 destinations include Argentina, Chile, Denmark, the Netherlands, Peru, South Africa and South Korea. Double-digit decreases among the top 25 host countries include Mexico (which experienced H1N1 virus outbreak that year), Austria and India.