University Magazine Issue 1

VIU.EDU
ASIA CONTRIBUTES THE LARGEST
NUMBER OF STUDENTS TO THE U.S.
Studying overseas has become increasingly popular
for students all over the world. For American students,
the United Kingdom has been a favorite destination,
drawing the largest group of students, closely
followed by Italy, Spain and France during the last two
years. Almost 60% of students studied abroad for eight
weeks or less and took courses mainly in the social sciences,
business and humanities.
In turn, the United States hosts many international
students from around the world. According to Fast
Facts, 2012 saw an increase of 7% in international students
in the US, a record high of almost 820 thousand
students. China contributed the largest number of students,
about 236 thousand.
There was drop of nearly 4% of students from India;
however, it is still the second largest group, equal to
about half of Chinese students. Several countries, including
Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have shown a
marked rise in the number of students they send to
the US by at least 25%. Nonetheless the largest group
remains Chinese students.
A similar trend is in play at VIU, although not necessarily
with the same countries. VIU receives the most
inquiries from interested foreign students in Asia, followed
closely by Africa.
MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS
Among international students studying in the United
States, MBA degrees are the most popular, yet, engineering,
math and computer science, social sciences
and physical and life sciences are beginning to catch
up. At VIU, the trend reflects that in the rest of the
United States, with business programs being the most
popular, followed closely by ESL programs and computer
and technology programs.
“Innovations at the
Intersection of Language,
Learning, & Culture”
April 11-12, 2014
FEATURING
• Dr. Terrence G. Wiley, President and CEO of
the Center for Applied Linguistics, on the
multilingual heritage and contemporary
linguistic diversity in the US
• Dr. Shelley Wong, Professor at George Mason
University and past TESOL President, on student
advocacy and empowerment
• Dr. Ken Petersen, Technical Director of
Online Learning & Assessment for American
Councils for International Education, on
innovations in technology for the modern
classroom
Join the conference to discuss the latest
developments in Language Learning and
Development, Pedagogical Considerations,
Program Evaluation and Policy & Language
in Society.
For more information on abstract submission,
registration, event schedule, and more, visit the
School of Education website:
http://viu.edu/sed.
Spring 2014 University Magazine, VIU
55