Report shows 3-decade rise in foreign STEM students

The number of foreign students earning degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics has risen steadily for decades, according to new data from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). About 22% of all STEM degrees in the U.S. were conferred to foreign students in the 2016-17 academic year, up from 11% in 1988-89. Master's degrees account for the majority of the credentials awarded. That share could shrink, however, as colleges report declines in enrollment of foreign students, who are generally considered to be a boon to the sector and the economy at-large. International students are attractive to U.S. colleges because they are almost never eligible for financial aid and therefore pay full tuition, the CRS report notes. Despite accounting for a little more than 5% of enrollment in colleges and universities in the country, foreign students deliver as much as $39 billion to the U.S. economy, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, reported earlier this year.