First-time International Graduate Enrollment Continues to Rebound

In June, CGS released its annual International Graduate Applications and Enrollment: 2022 report which found that international graduate applications and enrollment remained robust in 2021-2022, with applications increasing for a fourth year in a row.

The annual report highlights data from the CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey. According to survey data between Fall 2021 and Fall 2022, the total number of international graduate applications received by U.S. degree-granting institutions participating in the survey increased by 26 percent. First-time international graduate enrollment increased by eight percent.

Other top findings include:

• The overall representation of sending countries is shifting. U.S. universities have witnessed a surge in applications and enrollments from India and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa since Fall 2020. Meanwhile, graduate applications have decreased two years in a row from Chinese nationals.
• Enrollments in master’s programs continue to grow as a share of total international enrollments in U.S. graduate programs. Shifts in country representation are related to this growth: according to CGS’s survey population, more than 8 out of 10 (85%) Indian students studying in U.S. graduate programs are master’s students.
• As the pandemic wanes, there is a decrease in remote-only delivery of programs. Between Fall 2020 and Fall 2022, first-time enrollment for remote only courses for master’s and certificate programs decreased from 5,183 to 2,457. At the same time, enrollments for master’s and certificate programs that deliver a mixture of in-person, hybrid, and remote courses increased from nearly 17,000 in Fall 2020 to more than 52,000 in Fall 2022.