\n<\/p>\n
Master\u2019s programs at some college saw steep declines in international student enrollment.<\/p>\n
Photo illustration by Justin Morrison\/Inside Higher Ed | skynesher\/E+\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Federal actions to limit immigration have affected many international students\u2019 decision to enroll at U.S. colleges and universities this fall, with several institutions reporting dramatic declines in international student enrollment. <\/p>\n
New data from the Department of Homeland Security from the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System for October shows an overall 1\u00a0percent decline of all international students in the U.S. SEVIS data includes all students on F-1 and M-1 visas, including those enrolled in primary and secondary school, language training, flight school, and other vocational programs. <\/p>\n
According to DHS data, bachelor\u2019s degree enrollment among international students is down 1\u00a0percent from October 2024 to October 2025; master\u2019s degree enrollment is down 2\u00a0percent, as well. Associate degree programs have 7\u00a0percent more international students in October 2025 than the year prior, and international doctoral students are up 2\u00a0percent.<\/p>\n
Campus-level data paints a more dramatic picture; an Inside Higher Ed<\/em> analysis of self-reported graduate international student enrollment numbers from nine colleges and universities finds an average year-over-year decline of 29\u00a0percent.<\/p>\n Some groups, including NAFSA, the association for international educators, have published predictions of how international student enrollment would impact colleges\u2019 enrollment and financial health. NAFSA expected to see a 15\u00a0percent decline across the sector and greater drops for master\u2019s degree programs.<\/p>\n \u201cMaster\u2019s [programs] have been very hit. And in addition to master\u2019s being hit, programs like computer sciences and STEM in particular have been mostly affected,\u201d NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw said in a Sept.\u00a019 interview with Inside Higher Ed<\/em>.<\/p>\n At the University of Wisconsin at Madison, for example, master\u2019s degree enrollment dropped 22\u00a0percent from fall 2024. Ph.D. program enrollment declined only 1\u00a0percent compared to the year prior, according to university data. <\/p>\n While more selective or elite institutions have mostly weathered enrollment declines among undergraduate international students\u2014reporting little or no change to their enrollment numbers this fall\u2014Aw says graduate student enrollment is down everywhere. <\/p>\n The University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Wharton School of Business, for example, reported that international students made up 26\u00a0percent of its incoming master\u2019s in business administration class, down five\u00a0percentage points from the year prior, as reported by <\/em>Poets and Quants<\/em> (Poets and Quants<\/em> is also owned by Times Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed<\/em>\u2019s parent company). At Duke\u2019s Fuqua School of Business, 47\u00a0percent of the incoming class in 2024 hailed from other nations, but that figure dropped to 38\u00a0percent this fall. <\/p>\n Because master\u2019s degrees are shorter programs than undergraduate ones, averaging two years, Aw anticipates universities to see even more dramatic declines from 2024 in fall 2026. <\/p>\n \u201cThe current environment is still too uncertain for [graduate] students to even consider potentially applying,\u201d Aw said. \u201cYou cannot have enrollment if they\u2019re not even applying.\u201d <\/p>\n Of colleges in the data set, Northwest Missouri State University reported the greatest year-over-year decline in graduate student enrollment, falling from 557 international students in fall 2024 to 125 in fall 2025. In April, Northwest Missouri State reported that 43 of its international students had their SEVIS statuses revoked; 38 of them were on optional practical training.<\/p>\n At that time, Northwest Missouri State encouraged students who lost their SEVIS status to depart the U.S. immediately \u201cto avoid accruing unlawful presence,\u201d according to a memo from President Lance Tatum published by Fox 4 Kansas City. The university declined to comment for this piece. <\/p>\n Nationwide, international students make up 22\u00a0percent of all full-time graduate students, according to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data. International students often pay higher tuition rates compared to their domestic peers, and some colleges rely on international students to boost graduate program enrollment.<\/p>\n The dramatic changes in enrollment numbers are having budgetary impacts on some colleges. <\/p>\n At Georgetown University, foreign graduate student enrollment dropped 20\u00a0percent, which was expected but steeper than anticipated, according to a memo from interim university president Robert M. Groves. In April, Georgetown cut $100\u00a0million from its budget due to loss of federal research dollars and international student revenue, and Groves said more cuts may be needed in December. <\/p>\n DePaul University in Chicago saw a 63\u00a0percent year-over-year decline in new graduate students from other nations\u2014a sharp drop that administrators, similarly, did not anticipate in this year\u2019s budget. <\/p>\n As more colleges solidify their fall enrollment numbers, the sectorwide decline in foreign students has become more clear.<\/p>\n Inside Higher Ed<\/em>\u2019s initial data found colleges reported, on average, a 13\u00a0percent decrease in international student enrollment. The median year-over-year change was a 9\u00a0percent drop. <\/p>\n Small colleges saw significant changes. Bethany Lutheran College in Minnesota, with a total head count of 900 students, reported a 50\u00a0percent growth in international students. At the other end, the University of Hartford in Connecticut lost half of its international students, only expecting 50 instead of 100 this fall.<\/p>\n Community colleges are also feeling the loss of international students. Bellevue College in Washington State, a leading destination for international students in the two-year sector, reported a 56\u00a0percent year-over-year decline in enrollment. <\/p>\n Southeast Missouri State reported a 63\u00a0percent decline in international students, with 494 individuals unable to secure visas, according to a university statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Master\u2019s programs at some college saw steep declines in international student enrollment. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison\/Inside Higher Ed | skynesher\/E+\/Getty Images Federal actions to limit immigration have affected many international students\u2019 decision to enroll at U.S. colleges and universities this fall, with several institutions reporting dramatic declines in international student enrollment. New data from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[2573,7038,1109,531,393],"class_list":{"0":"post-32448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-drops","9":"tag-enrollment","10":"tag-graduate","11":"tag-international","12":"tag-student"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}