Vietnamese student number in US reaches all-time high

Nearly 25,600 Vietnamese students studied at U.S. higher education institutions during the past school year, marking the highest number ever recorded and establishing Vietnam as the fifth-largest source of international students in the U.S.

During the 2024–2025 academic year, the number of Vietnamese students in the U.S. increased by 15.9% to 25,584, contributing nearly US$1.15 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE)’s latest Open Doors Report.

This figure is the highest since the IIE began tracking data on Vietnamese students in 2000–2001.

The majority of Vietnamese students studying in the U.S. during this period were undergraduates, accounting for 63%. They were followed by graduate students (17.3%), students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) (14.2%), and the rest are non-degree students.

Globally, more than 1.17 million international students from over 200 countries and territories were studying in the U.S. for the 2024–2025 academic year, an increase of 4.5% from the prior year. International students accounted for 6% of the total U.S. higher education population and contributed nearly $55 billion to the U.S. economy, supporting over 355,000 jobs.

Top sending countries are India with 363,019 students (up 9.5%), China with 265,919 students (down 4%), South Korea with 42,293 students (down 2%) and Canada with 29,903 students (up 3%).

While the number of graduate students (master’s or doctorate degrees) decreased by 2.7% to 488,481 (following three years of growth), undergraduate student enrollment grew by 4.2% to 357,231. This undergraduate rise marks the first significant increase at that level since the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of international students pursuing OPT reached 294,253, an increase of 21% from the prior year.

More than half (57%) of international students across all academic levels pursued STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The most popular fields were Mathematics and Computer Science, chosen by one in four students, followed by Engineering, and Business & Management.

While the total number of students grew, new international student enrollments (those studying for the first time) were down by 7.2% to 277,118 in 2024-2025.

By Minh Nga – VnExpress.net – November 22, 2025