Boston College’s international student population has nearly doubled in the past decade, as has the number of research scholars from abroad, according to a recent report by the Office of International Students and Scholars.
According to the OISS, there are 754 undergraduates and 736 graduate students from other countries enrolled for the 2015-16 academic year; the total of 1,490 (which includes exchange students) compares to the 2005-06 figure of 776. There was a 7 percent rise in undergraduates from 2014-15, 9 percent among graduate students.
Research scholars at BC number 262 this academic year; the total in 2005-06 was 130. BC’s current international population of 2,278 also includes 362 students undertaking a period of practical training, and 164 dependent spouses or children.
China (613) and South Korea (169) continue to have the largest contingent of international students at BC – as has been the trend for at least the past decade – followed by Spain (40), Canada (36) and India and Italy (34). Sixty-three percent of BC international students are from Asia, making it by far the most-represented region (Europe is next with 17 percent).
But BC also is hosting students from 96 countries in most every corner of the world, including Nicaragua, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Nepal, Barbados, Norway, Singapore, Honduras, Israel, Argentina, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, El Salvador and Uganda.
Most of the 2015-16 undergraduate international students are enrolled in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences (377), and most are studying economics (160).
Other popular fields of study include finance (69), psychology (65) and communication (38). Among graduate students, 234 are in MCAS, 225 in the Carroll School of Management; accounting (98), theology/ministry (82), economics and management (62 apiece) and finance (61) are the most popular fields of study.
