The number of Bangladeshi students studying in the USA reached an all-time high as it increased to 8,249 during the 2018/19 academic year reflecting a 10 percent rise compared to the last academic year.
According to the 2019 ‘Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange,’ the number is an all-time high for Bangladeshi students in the USA that is more than tripling since 2009, said a statement issued by the US embassy in Dhaka on Monday (Nov 18), reports BSS.
In celebration of International Education Week (IEW), a joint US Department of State and US Department of Education initiative, the USA Embassy Dhaka revealed the report.
The report said Bangladesh is among the fastest-growing countries of origin for international students in the United States while it is the highest in the South Asian region.
Bangladesh now ranks 20th in the world for countries sending students to the United States for higher education, and the only country in the top 25 list to have a double-digit increase since the 2018 report, it added.
Out of total 8,249 Bangladeshi students studying in the United States, 5,278 study at the graduate level; a 13.5% increase over 2017/2018 academic year.
As per the report, nearly 75 percent of Bangladeshi students currently on US campuses study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Of them, over 40 percent (40.4%) study Engineering, nearly 18 percent (17.7%) Math/Computer Science, and over 15 percent (15.3%) Physical or Life Sciences. Nearly eight percent (7.8%) study business or management.
For the past four years, U.S. colleges and universities have hosted more than one million international students, reaching a record high of 1,095,299 this school year, said the report.
Promoting educational exchanges between Bangladesh and the United States is a strategic priority for US Embassy in Dhaka, the release 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,” it added.