News Release
SF State No. 1 for international students among master's institutions
Nearly 2,500 students from 90 countries attended the University last fall
SAN FRANCISCO, November 15, 2007 -- San Francisco State University once again boasts more international students than any other master's degree-granting institution in the United States, according to 2006-07 figures released by the Institute of International Education.
This marks the third consecutive year SF State has ranked No. 1 for international students after ranking No. 2 each year from 2000 to 2004.
The rankings are based on the recently completed 2006-07 academic year when SF State had 2,496 international students -- a 23.8 percent increase from the previous year and more than seven times the national increase.
Yenbo Wu, associate vice president of international education, said the university has been successful establishing its academic reputation in the international community to help bring talented students to study at SF State.
"These are the people who will be doing business and becoming friends and buying U.S. goods," Wu said. "The ties we've created through these international students are tremendous. If Californians do not know languages and cultures of other countries and have friends in other countries, we'll be doing ourselves a huge disservice."
Last fall, matriculated students at SF State represented 90 countries of origin. Countries topping the list include: Japan with 387 students, followed by Taiwan (152), South Korea (121), China (114), Mexico (98), Hong Kong (74) and India (74).
Business once again remained the most popular field of study with 623 students followed by computer science (78), biology (61), psychology (56), engineering (54) and cinema (50).
Matriculated students do not include those enrolled through SF State's College of Extended Learning or American Language Institute. The data also does not include exchange visitors, students or scholars.
For nationwide data on international students, visit the Institute of International Education's Web site at: http://opendoors.iienetwork.org
For more information about SF State's international programs, call (415) 338-1293 or visit: www.sfsu.edu/~oip
SF State is the only master's-level public university serving the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin. The University enrolls about 29,000 students each year and graduates about 7,000 annually. With nationally acclaimed programs in a range of fields -- from creative writing, cinema, and biology to history, broadcast and electronic communication arts, theatre arts and ethnic studies -- the University's more than 150,000 graduates have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and beyond.
Note: Yenbo Wu, associate vice president of international education, may be contacted directly at (415) 338-6377 or ywu@sfsu.edu. He is available for interviews in Mandarin, in addition to English.
Share this story:
