UCSD Among Top Universities
for International Students

April 15, 2009

By Pat JaCoby

The University of California, San Diego is among the top five percent of universities nationally in the number of international students on campus, according to the International Center’s recently released annual report.

“Last year the campus attracted nearly 2,200 international scholars (graduate students and faculty) and more than 2,200 international students, while nearly 1,000 of our UC San Diego students studied aboard,” said Lynn C. Anderson, dean of International Education and director of the International Center. “That puts us at seventh rank nationally in the number of international scholars on campus and seventh in the number of students studying abroad for a full year.

“These students and scholars contribute to our classrooms, research and service and help globally educate our students,” she noted.

In one step toward achieving UC San Diego’s goal of sending 50 percent of undergraduates abroad, she said the Study Abroad Program will offer six faculty-led Global Seminars this summer. These five-week, eight-unit programs include International Politics, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Spanish Dialectology and Flamenco, Cadiz, Spain; World History, Istanbul, Turkey; Humanities and History, Rome, Italy, and World History,  Berlin, Germany;

During the fall of 2008, the International Center sent a survey to 3,500 study abroad alumni, with a return rate of 28.3 percent. Fifty percent of the respondents agreed that study abroad influenced their choice of career, and 38.5 percent said that study abroad helped them obtain their first job after college.

Other report highlights include:

• International scholars: Of the 2,126 international scholars last year, 87 percent came to conduct research; six percent were faculty; one percent, lecturers; and six percent came for conferences or short-term research projects. The leading areas of research by international scholars are in the health sciences, followed by the biological sciences, chemistry/biochemistry, and engineering.
• International students: The number of international students increased by nearly five percent to a record high of 2,267 last year, demonstrating again that UC San Diego remains a premier destination for those from around the world seeking to further their education. More than 50 percent of the international students were graduate students, with the top five fields of study, respectively, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, International Relations/Pacific Studies, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and Business Administration. Among the undergraduate student population, Economics and Management Science remain the most popular fields of study.

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, 646-534-7404 or pjacoby@ucsd.edu