US student numbers up 10.9 percent in UK

An increasing number of American students now choose to study at UK institutions, the Institute of International Education (IIE) has found.

As many as 32,705 US students were on exchange placements and an additional 15,955 pursued full degree courses in 2006-07, an increase of 1.9% and 10.9%, respectively, on the previous year.

The findings are part of newly published data released in Open Doors 2008, the annual report on international academic mobility published by the IIE with support from the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The report shows a staggering increase in the number of American students opting to study overseas. The last decade alone has seen the numbers rise from less than 100,000 students in 1996-97 to nearly 250,000 students in 2006-07. Additionally, the bi-partisan Lincoln Commission has, in its aim to create a more globally informed American citizenry, set an extremely ambitious goal of sending one million students abroad by 2016-17.

Such educational exchange programs, however, are not purely one-sided; British students have also shown a strong interest to study in the US.

Indeed, the UK has been in the top 15 countries in terms of sending students to US institutions, with 8,367 UK students at US universities in 2007-08. The study also reveals that many UK students gain admittance to top Ivy League institutions, including: Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, amongst others.

When asked why he came to study in the UK, and why to Warwick in particular, Derek Hatley, a first year student, explained he had a number of reasons.

“Primarily, I wanted to get out of the US for a while and see some more of the world, and also to see my own country from a foreign perspective. I came to the UK specifically because I’m not fluent in another language, and the UK has some of the best English-language universities in the world. Studying here for my whole degree as opposed to doing an exchange programme means I can get a better sense of what the country is like, become more integrated in the university community, and also have the experience of living off-campus.

“There were also financial considerations – it would have cost me $40,000 to $50,000 a year for four years to attend an out-of-state university. Warwick – along with most other UK universities – offers a comparable education for much less, about $30,000 for three years. I decided to come to Warwick because I liked the campus and location, it has strong international links, and it’s highly rated for my subject.”

Evidence of the growth of educational links between the US and UK over the decades can be found in the growing number of scholarships on both sides of the Atlantic. Notable examples are the Kennedy Scholarships, the Fulbright Program, the Marshall Scholarship and, perhaps the most famous the Rhodes Scholarship.