Spring Break
MU sees increase in international students
Roger Sauerhaft
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Campus
As a result of increased efforts to recruit students from overseas, and the East Asia region specifically, Miami has made the leap from 326 international students this past spring to 406 this fall.
Of these 406 international students, just over half are at the graduate level (217), and there are 55 different countries represented. David Keitges, Miami's director of international education, saw a number of reasons for students to choose Miami-although he cited the high ranking of the Farmer School of Business and the new construction for the business and engineering schools to be of particular significance.
"The fact that we're a 'Public Ivy'-a ranked university-makes a big difference," Keitges said, who added that Miami concentrates mostly on East Asia for financial reasons. "There are about 4,000 universities and colleges in the U.S., and the fact that our business school is ranked 21 or 22, that's very high. Chinese students are very swayed by rankings. They're very concerned with going to the best school they can get into. A university like Miami is affordable compared to many large private institutions in the U.S., that's one of the reasons we get
these applications."
One particular statistic of note is the number of students enrolled from China. According to the Statistical Information for International Students and Scholars, supplied by the Office of International Education, as the number of international students as a whole at Miami rose by 80, the number from China rose from 72 to 123. Furthermore, for both semesters last year, the number of international students within the College of Arts and Science consistently outnumbered those in business. However, the rise in Chinese students came with the sudden growth in popularity of the Farmer School of Business.
"There is a huge surge right now in Chinese admissions all over the country, not just us," Keitges explained. "There are not enough quality educational opportunities in China-there are excellent universities, but there's a whole lot of people-so some students want to come over to the U.S. to get a degree and to perfect their English, which they view as the international language of business."
Of these 406 international students, just over half are at the graduate level (217), and there are 55 different countries represented. David Keitges, Miami's director of international education, saw a number of reasons for students to choose Miami-although he cited the high ranking of the Farmer School of Business and the new construction for the business and engineering schools to be of particular significance.
"The fact that we're a 'Public Ivy'-a ranked university-makes a big difference," Keitges said, who added that Miami concentrates mostly on East Asia for financial reasons. "There are about 4,000 universities and colleges in the U.S., and the fact that our business school is ranked 21 or 22, that's very high. Chinese students are very swayed by rankings. They're very concerned with going to the best school they can get into. A university like Miami is affordable compared to many large private institutions in the U.S., that's one of the reasons we get
these applications."
One particular statistic of note is the number of students enrolled from China. According to the Statistical Information for International Students and Scholars, supplied by the Office of International Education, as the number of international students as a whole at Miami rose by 80, the number from China rose from 72 to 123. Furthermore, for both semesters last year, the number of international students within the College of Arts and Science consistently outnumbered those in business. However, the rise in Chinese students came with the sudden growth in popularity of the Farmer School of Business.
"There is a huge surge right now in Chinese admissions all over the country, not just us," Keitges explained. "There are not enough quality educational opportunities in China-there are excellent universities, but there's a whole lot of people-so some students want to come over to the U.S. to get a degree and to perfect their English, which they view as the international language of business."
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