International Enrollment At Penn State Reaches Record High
October 18, 2000
University Park, Pa. – Penn State's international student population reached 3,603 - the largest in Penn State history and a 42 percent increase from 1996.

About half of the international students are from India, China, Taiwan, Korea and Thailand and most are enrolled in engineering, business, science or the liberal arts at University Park. The 3,603 figure represents 2,258 graduate students (2,107 at University Park), 705 undergraduates (587 at University Park), and 640 students engaged system-wide in programs such as intensive English, certificate programs or practical training internships.

"These numbers reflect our efforts to refocus and reorganize our endeavors to meet a growing demand for opportunities for international visitors to study, teach and conduct research at University campuses across the state," says Beverly Lindsay, dean of the University Office of International Programs. Increasing international enrollment was one of the goals established in 1994, by the University's International Council, which advises the president's office on international matters.

American universities are required to report this information to the Institute of International Education's "Open Doors," the official census of foreign students in the United States.

Contact: Amy Neil, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or .