Around 8,249 students studying in the US in the academic year 2018-19

The number of students from Bangladesh studying in the US has increased to 8,249 during the academic year 2018-19, according to the 2019 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

This is an all-time high for Bangladesh, reflecting a 10% increase over the 2018 report, and more than tripling since 2009, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Monday, reports UNB.

The US Embassy had celebrated the International Education Week (IEW), a joint US Department of State and US Department of Education initiative from November 18 to November 22.

The Embassy said Bangladesh is among the fastest-growing countries of origin for international students in the United States.

It now ranks 20th in the world for countries sending students to the United States for higher education, and the only country on the top 25 list to have a double-digit increase since the 2018 report. 

Bangladesh’s increase is the highest in the South Asian region.  Out of a total of 8,249 Bangladeshi students studying in the United States, 5,278 studies at the graduate level; a 13.5% increase over 2017-18 academic year.

Nearly 75% of Bangladeshi students currently in US campuses study in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. 

Of them, over 40% (40.4%) study engineering, nearly 18% (17.7%) study Math/Computer Science, and over 15% (15.3%) study Physical or Life Sciences. 

Nearly 8% (7.8%) study Business/Management. 

For the past four years, US colleges and universities have hosted more than one million international students, reaching a record high of 1,095,299 this school year. 

This also marks the 13th consecutive year of the continued expansion of the total number of international students in the US higher education system. 

Promoting educational exchanges between Bangladesh and the United States is a strategic priority for US Embassy in Dhaka. 

The Embassy said: “International education exchanges benefit both our nations and peoples, boosting intellectual and cross-cultural capital as well as business and professional networks, and helping prepare students to enter the global job markets, and solve the world’s toughest challenges.”