July-August 2019

For over a century, the United States has been
one of the most sought-after destinations for
students and scholars seeking high-quality
education and research opportunities. The
confluence of people from diverse backgrounds,
experiences and ideologies has
created a pluralistic society, which cultivates
creativity and promotes independent thought,
inquiry-based learning and equal opportunity.
These tenets are also the hallmark of the U.S.
higher education system, which has produced
world leaders, change agents and citizen
ambassadors. It is no surprise then that U.S.
universities have produced, for instance, the
highest number of Nobel laureates and most
of the chief executives of companies on the
global Fortune 100 list. U.S. institutions are
also among the top global higher education
institutions to influence inventions and
innovation.
Statistically, the United States has been the
most preferred destination for higher
education among international students. In
2017-18, there were 1.09 million international
students in the country. Data from the Open
Doors reports, based on U.S. Department of
State-funded annual surveys of the number of
international students in the United States,
reveal that since 2000-01, the number of international
students in the country has almost
doubled, with China and India being the top
two countries of origin. Furthermore, the
number of Indian students studying in the
United States has almost doubled in the last
six academic years.
The U.S. higher education system,
represented by more than 4,700 accredited
institutions of higher education, has the
capacity to nurture large cohorts of students.
U.S. classrooms are a meeting ground of
multicultural perspectives as well as academic
and socioeconomic backgrounds. This
diversity helps students become more
emotionally intelligent, situationally aware
and tolerant toward differences.
Classroom discussions, for instance, are not
only more enriching, but also compel learners
to understand problems from all vantage
Emerson College’s academic
facility in Los Angeles is
designed to expand the
interactive and social
aspects of education.
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