The number of international students enrolled at US universities has dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, noting that the decline was greater than for any other student group.
A new Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education and sponsored by the US Department of State found that there were 914,095 international students studying at US institutions in 2020 to 2021, down from 1,075,496 in 2019 to 2020. Of those 914,095 international students, 32,468 are studying health-related fields, and 75,029 are studying physical or life sciences. As the Chronicle notes, the total number of international students enrolled fell by 15 percent, the largest decline int 72-year history of the report.
"The pandemic's disruption to global student mobility is without precedent," the Chronicle writes.
However, it adds there are signs of rebounding enrollments, reporting an increase in the number of student visa applications made between May and August following the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions for international students in the US.