International Students of Higher Education in the United States: A GIS Study of Their Origination and Location

This study investigated the places of origin of international students and their distribution in the United States higher education. The data concerning the population of international students were obtained from the official website of International Institution of Education (IIE), and transferred into three maps using geographic information systems (GIS) software so that a more direct view of the data was available. The results of the study showed that (1) A larger proportion of international students come from Asian countries; (2) California, New York, and Texas are the top three states hosting international students; (3) most of the universities enrolling international students are located in the eastern part of the country; and (4) the states with already large international student populations experienced a faster growth in the population of international students over the past five years. Some implications for policy planning are discussed at the end of this paper.