What subjects do US students want to study abroad?
While studying abroad remains an attractive option for many students in the United States, the actual number of Americans pursuing academic credit overseas is relatively modest, with about 200,000 participating. This raises the question: What particular fields of study are encouraging these students to explore education beyond their national borders?
To better understand the subjects US students are most interested in pursuing outside of the United States, we analyzed the interests of American students on our platform. The results reveal key trends that can help higher education professionals tailor their recruitment strategies and programme offerings to attract these students.
Note that Studyportals data is forward-looking and has a high correlation with enrolments 12 to 18 months later.
It’s no surprise that over 95% of student interest from Americans for European Law, European Studies, and British Studies is for programmes outside the US.
Besides these obvious examples, our analysis found the top 20 subjects that US students are most likely to want to study abroad.
Business and Management and finance subjects
- Master in Management (MIM)
- Marketing Management
- International Business
- Strategic Management
- Innovation Management
- Management of Creative Industries
- Banking
- Financial Technology
IIE data shows about 20% of US students studying abroad are studying business courses. However, a deeper dive into the data reveals interesting nuances in subject preferences.
Only about 40% of the interest for Executive MBAs goes to institutions outside of the US. On the other hand, over 90% of US student interest for Master in Management courses goes to institutions outside of the US. This is an intuitive finding as Master in Management courses originate from and are more popular in Europe.
The relative popularity of studying outside the US for subjects like Innovation Management and Banking is perhaps more unexpected.
Global Affairs and Development Studies
- International Development
- Political Science
- Diplomacy
- International Relations
- International Law
- Sustainable Development
- Corporate Social Responsibility
More interest in Subjects connected to Global citizenship from US students, is also directed outside of the US, particularly to Europe.
While about 70% of Americans studying abroad, choose to study in Europe, US Students may perceive European institutions as being more committed towards the Sustainable Development Goals and as being more specialized in international fields in particular.
Science and Technology
- Communications Engineering
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
- Artificial Intelligence
Interestingly, American students also show strong interest in studying certain science and technology subjects abroad. One standout is Artificial Intelligence, which is a top 20 subject of interest for US students in overseas institutions, despite the prevalence of AI programmes in the US.
Healthcare and Social Sciences
- Midwifery
- Social Psychology
US students are also interested in studying Midwifery and Social Psychology abroad. On average, across all subjects, 64% of student interest from the US goes to other countries.
In contrast, 86% of pageviews for Midwifery courses, by US students were for courses outside of the US.
It is not clear whether US restrictions on reproductive health care is a motivating factor. The trend is the same in both conservative/red Republican states and Liberal/blue Democrat states.
It’s worth noting that out of the top five states with the most student interest in studying abroad on Studyportals, three are blue states and two are red states.
Understanding these trends is key for higher education professionals aiming to attract American students. By aligning their programme offerings and recruitment strategies with the specific interests identified in our data, institutions abroad can better position themselves to meet the demands of international students from the US.
