Number of US Students Overseas Increases by 150% in 2007

The United States Institute of International Education (IIE) reported that the number of American students who are studying abroad has increased by 150% in the 2007, over the past decade. Because the US government wants to offer the opportunity for American students to experience education in other countries, a lot of exchange programs in different colleges and universities have been active for over ten years. The IIE also compares the 2006 – 2007 number of US college students studying overseas, which was 223,000, to the 1995 – 1996 data, which was only about 90,000 back then. This significant increase implies the success of the mentioned exchange programs.

Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs explains that the Department of State sponsors many international learning opportunities for their American students. The Gilman Scholarships, National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), and the Fulbright US Student Program, are only a few of such active exchange programs sponsored by the government.

According to Hughes, the Gilman Scholarships offer the opportunity to study abroad to college students from minority communities, or those from low-income groups. The scholarship program was named after former House International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman. This project stresses that even undergraduates from minority communities can avail of the benefits gained from studying abroad.

President George Bush established the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) in 2006 to further improve student knowledge on critical languages like Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Persian, and Hindi. Other languages are also included in the program. Cultural diversity and the perspective of students under the NSLI are broadened, and at the same time vital language and communication skills are taught which can be useful in the future. Hughes says that some of the schools that adapt the NSLI start integrating the language skills from kindergarten, even up to the college level.

The Fulbright Program has been offering opportunities for American students since 1948. Since its inception by US Senator J. William Fulbright, the student program has already offered scholarship grants to more than 100,000 US students. Over 144 countries are participating in the exchange program.

The most popular destinations by US exchange students were in the Middle East and Asian regions, as reported by the Institute for International Education in 2007. There was a 31% increase of American students studying in the Middle East, while there was a 26% increase in the number going to Asia. Latin America and Africa were also popular destinations for the exchange students.