Editor's note: This story is being highlighted in ASU Now's year in review. To read more top stories from 2017, click here.
For the third consecutive year, Arizona State University is hosting more international students than any other public university in the country, according to a new report released Monday by an international education not-for-profit.
More than 13,000 international scholars called ASU home for at least a part of the 2016–2017 school year, up about 3 percent over the prior year, when the university was also the top public institution in the category. ASU also took the No. 1 spot for public universities in 2014–2015.
“More and more each year, our student body looks like the world we live in,” ASU President Michael M. Crow said. “That’s deliberate. We have made a concerted commitment to be of service to people all around the world. The international students who come learn with us in the Phoenix area thrive at ASU, and we are grateful to be able to share in their educational experience.
The report, by the Institute of International Education, ranks ASU ahead of other public schools like UCLA, Penn State and the University of Michigan, and fifth overall, in the company of such private universities as NYU (ranked first), USC (ranked second), Columbia University and Northeastern University in Boston (ranked third and fourth, respectively). The report comes at the start of International Education Week, which runs Nov. 13–17.
The ranking compiles degree-seeking students, students in intensive English programs and students who are taking advantage of practical training programs to arrive at the “hosting” metric, a broader look at how U.S. universities have become hubs for international education beyond what is traditionally thought of as college or graduate school.
The IIE also compiled the leading places of origin for international students in the United States. China sends the most students to the country, followed by India, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
That largely matches the makeup of ASU’s international student population, a few of whom shared some time with ASU Now talking about what they wished more people understood about their experience as an international student in the United States.
This video is part of a series that began with Native 101. The project has asked African-Americans, women, veterans, Asians and Latino students to share their own stories and help dispel stereotypes.
Note: A earlier version of this story incorrectly said ASU was the top U.S. public institution for hosting international students for the second consecutive year; it is the third straight year ASU has topped the list.
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