United States

The United States hosted 1.18 million international students in 2024/25.

Top Universities: The US has the world's largest concentration of globally recognised universities, including MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Caltech, University of Chicago, UC Berkeley and many others.

Global Rankings: The US was the most represented location in the QS World University Rankings 2026, with 192 ranked institutions, including 11 institutions in the global top 100.Broad Recognition: The US higher education system offers an exceptionally broad range of universities, liberal arts colleges, research institutions, community colleges and specialist schools.

Popular Fields: STEM fields dominate international enrolment. In 2024/25, 57% of international students studied STEM, with mathematics/computer science accounting for 26% and engineering 18%. Business and management accounted for 14%.

Levels of Study: Graduate students remain the largest academic-level group, with 488,481 international graduate students in 2024/25, compared with 357,231 undergraduates.Grading Scale: US universities generally use A–F letter grades, often converted into a 4.0 GPA scale.

International Student Population: The US hosted 1,177,766 international students in 2024/25, an increase of 5% from the previous year.

Practical Training: 294,253 international students were on Optional Practical Training (OPT) in 2024/25, reflecting the importance of post-study work opportunities within the US system.

Source: Institute of International Education (Open Doors 2025) / US Department of State.