This past year has been filled with events that remind us why global learning is so essential. At a time in history when it might be easy to be discouraged or anxious about the future of international education, let’s take a moment to pause before jumping into 2025 and celebrate some of the wonderfully positive news stories that have come out of our field in 2024.

STUDY ABROAD STUDENT NUMBERS ARE CONTINUING TO INCREASE.

IIE reported that 94% of colleges and universities who responded to their survey noted an increased or stable student participation in study abroad for the 2024/2025 academic year. This builds on 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 growth that followed the significant decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. IIE’s Spring 2024 Snapshot Report shared that “This indicates a shift back to pre-pandemic study abroad plans and a strong focus on in-person study abroad programming across institutions and institutional types.”

THE US ELECTION TRIGGERED A SPIKE IN STUDY ABROAD SEARCHES.

Forbes and The PIE reported that US student inquiries into studying abroad on websites like study.eu spiked three-fold after the election. These were mainly hits coming from the seven swing states, followed by other Republican-voting states. The spike has leveled out, but interest remains, at the time of writing, 45% higher than average. Study Portals also saw a five-fold increase in traffic which CEO Edwin Van Rest described as “unprecedented.”

NON-TRADITIONAL DESTINATIONS ARE GAINING INTEREST. 

US students studied abroad in more than 180 destinations, spanning all seven continents. While many US students still express interest in the “top four” European countries—Italy, Spain, UK, and France—other places are popping up on the radar, like Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, according to the IIE Spring 2024 Snapshot report.

SUSTAINABILITY IS BEING PRIORITIZED MORE. 

The IIE Spring 2024 Snapshot report also noted that nearly half (45%) of the institutions who responded to their survey are prioritizing sustainability measures in their study abroad programs in different ways, for example, by choosing transportation with lower carbon emissions (e.g. train travel over additional flights) while abroad. Among other efforts, 10% of study abroad offices are now working to measure their greenhouse gas emissions and encourage students to purchase their offsets or purchase them for them. As the report states, there has been increased awareness of how international education can contribute to many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ramifications of international travel’s carbon footprint.

THE US HOSTED A RECORD NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. 

Looking at students traveling in the opposite direction, IIE’s Open Doors Report showed that the US hosted 1,126,690 international students in 2023-2024, marking the highest number recorded. This is a 7% year-on-year increase. The U.S. Department of Commerce, in 2023, reported that international students contributed $50 billion to the US economy that year. 

Here’s to plenty more positive news related to the state of international education to come in 2025, and a year filled with unforgettable adventures, true joy, and meaningful connections. Happy New Year!