The number of international students enrolled at U.S. higher learning institutions is decreasing, especially at the graduate school level, according to a recent federal report.
The 2024–2025 count, based on figures from all U.S. colleges and universities, noted a 15 percent decrease in the number of new international graduate students.
The report said approximately 1.2 million international students made up 6 percent of the total enrollment at American colleges and universities in the 2024–2025 academic year.
That figure includes a 5 percent increase in the number of international students enrolled in undergraduate programs from the 2023–2024 academic year.
The 2025–2026 snapshot summary indicated that overall international student enrollment is down 1 percent in the past year, with the number of undergraduate students increasing by 2 percent but graduate students decreasing by 12 percent.
President Donald Trump’s increased scrutiny of foreign students, including the vetting of social media activity, travel bans, a pause in visa appointments, and deportation orders for foreign students who violated terms of their visas, coincides with the decreased enrollments noted in the current snapshot.
International students, most of whom enrolled in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs at public institutions, contributed $55 billion to the U.S. economy last year and supported 355,000 jobs, the report said.
“International students come to the United States to advance their education and contribute to U.S. colleges and communities,” Jason Czyz, the institute’s president and CEO, said in a Nov. 17 news release.
“This data highlights the impact international students have in driving innovation, advancing scholarship, and strengthening cross-cultural understanding.”
The largest share of international students came from India (363,019), followed by China (265,919, a 4 percent decrease from 2023).
A large number of international students also came from Canada, Bangladesh, Colombia, Italy, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Vietnam, Nepal, and Spain, according to the report.
By state, Texas institutions reported the largest growth in the number of international students, followed by Illinois and Missouri.
For all school types, community colleges saw the largest spike in international enrollment, at 8 percent, the report noted.
The report primarily consists of data and does not list reasons for the fluctuations in enrollment figures.
Trump, under a compact offered to schools that promises more federal funding, is encouraging higher learning institutions to keep the number of international students below 15 percent of total undergraduate enrollment, but he did not suggest a cap for graduate or post-graduate students.
The president has also suggested allowing up to 600,000 Chinese university students into the United States.