Indian talent can replace China in STEM in the US

The number of Chinese students has been steadily declining, leaving India predicted to take the lead in STEM jobs for international students in the US.

The Open Doors 2023 report released by the Institute of InternationalEducation (IIE) on November 13 shows that although China still leads in the number of international students in the US, it is no longer overwhelming compared to India.

Specifically, in the 2022-2023 school year, more than 289,500 Chinese students came to the US, down 0.2% from the previous school year. Meanwhile, the number of Indian students was nearly 269,000, up 35%. The difference in the number of international students between the two countries also decreased from more than 90,000 to about 20,600.

STEM is still the most popular major for international students, especially Mathematics and Computer Science . However, the number of Indian students choosing these two majors is more than 110,000, while China only has about 67,100.

In addition, India leads the way in the number of students participating in the OPT program (post-graduation work permit in STEM, lasting up to 36 months), with 69,000 people (up 1.3%). The number of students studying in graduate programs also increased by 62.6%, reaching nearly 166,000 students. These are all record numbers.

School year	China		India		Difference
	Number of international students	Fluctuation	Number of international students	Fluctuation
2022-23	289,526	-0.2%	268,923	35%	20,603
2021-22	290,086	-8.6%	199,182	18.9%	90,904
2020-21	317,299	-14.8%	167,582	-13.2%	149,717
2019-20	372,532	0.8%	193,124	-4.4%	179,408

The growth in the number of Indian students studying in the US is due to the country’s economy, which is expected to grow by 6.3% in 2023-24. Additionally, foreign degrees in India are seen as a way to improve social status and marriage prospects for low- and middle-income families, so many families send their children abroad to study.

In contrast, slowing domestic economic growth and rising US college tuition have hit many families in China, according to Tian Wang, a senior assistant at a Chinese education group.

Tian also said that many other factors could affect the number of Chinese students studying in the US, including the Covid-19 pandemic and concerns about US-China relations.

"The difficulty forces people who originally planned to study in the US to choose countries with lower costs and shorter study periods," Tian said.

An article in the journal PNAS this year said that 17% of the 2020 US science and engineering doctorates went to Chinese students. Now that fewer Chinese students are studying in the US, recruiting people with doctoral degrees or higher will be more difficult.

Experts see this as meaning that in the future, the US will increasingly depend on international students from other countries such as India to maintain its leading position in the fields of science and technology.

“Indian students are filling the talent gap left by Chinese students. They are completing graduate programs to reach important STEM jobs,” said Teboho Moja, a professor at New York University.

However, Rajika Bhandari, an expert on international higher education, said this assessment is not necessarily accurate. "American universities still need to attract a diverse international student body, and India is just an option like any other country," she said.

Students during an activity at Stanford University, USA, on November 2. Photo: Stanford University Fanpage

Last school year, the number of international students in the US was nearly 1.06 million, up 12% from the previous school year and approaching the record of 1.1 million in 2019. By country, China and India dominated the number of international students, with 27% and 25%, respectively.

By field, 55% of all international students choose STEM majors, with the largest number being Mathematics and Computer Science.

Huy Quan ( According to SCMP, Bloomberg, Chinadaily, Times of India)

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