Washington, DC - From November 12-16, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education are celebrating International Education Week (IEW) by encouraging Americans to seek opportunities to study abroad and welcoming international students to study in the United States. International education makes the United States stronger, forging lasting connections with peers in other countries, bringing benefits to local communities, and generating knowledge to solve shared challenges.

Throughout IEW, events at schools and universities across the United States and around the world will focus on the importance of international education in fostering security and economic growth and highlight why more students should have access to an international education.

To open IEW, the State Department, in collaboration with the Institute of International Education, released the annual Open Doors report of data and trends in international academic mobility. For the third year in a row, more than one million international students studied at U.S. institutions of higher education in academic year 2017/18, an increase of 1.5 percent over the prior year. The number of American students studying abroad also increased by 2.3 percent from the prior year to 332,727 Americans.

International students have a major positive impact on American communities, enriching U.S. classrooms with new perspectives, contributing over $42 billion to the U.S. economy, and supporting over 450,000 U.S. jobs last year.

The State Department continues to broaden participation in U.S.-sponsored exchange programs, including the Fulbright Program, the Critical Language Scholarship Program, and the Gilman Program. Our global network of EducationUSA advising centers helps prospective students from around the world find their best fit at a U.S. college or university. Additionally, the State Department will hold “Passport to the World” events throughout the month of November to encourage U.S. citizens to apply for a passport.