UB Ranked 12th in International Enrollment Among U.S. Colleges and Universities

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo -- a longtime leader among major research universities in the United States in terms of percentage of enrollment represented by international students -- has increased its profile in the latest "Open Doors 2008" report published by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

UB is ranked No. 12 among the top 25 campuses hosting international students in the 2007-08 academic year, up from 13th place in 2006-07. The 4,363 international students attending UB make up more than 15 percent of the university's student population, contributing nearly $80 million a year to the Western New York economy, more than students at any public New York State institution of higher education.

"We are delighted that UB has moved from 13th to 12th place among institutions enrolling the largest number of international students," says Stephen Dunnett, Ph.D., vice provost for international education at UB. "Credit for UB's continued success in recruiting growing numbers of international students is due to the outstanding staff of our Office of International Enrollment Management, directed by Joseph J. Hindrawan, assistant vice provost for international education."

Among public research universities, UB ranks #1 in the proportion of overall enrollment that is international, Dunnett notes. It is the eighth year in a row that UB has ranked first in this category.

The IIE report is available at http://www.opendoors.iienetwork.org.

"UB takes pride in being a highly internationalized university that is enriched by the contributions of students, faculty and staff from many countries and cultural backgrounds," Dunnett says. "This is one of our great strengths as a public research university."

"In light of the increasing competition, both in the U.S. and abroad, for high-quality self-funded international students, our colleagues are working harder than ever before to recruit and enroll excellent students from many parts of the world."

The number of international students at colleges and universities in the U.S. increased by 7 percent to a record high of 623,805 in 2007-08, according to the IIE. In all, international student contribute more than $15.5 billion to the U.S economy through their tuition and living expenses, with 62 percent receiving the majority of their funds from personal and family sources.

In August, U.S. News and World Report ranked UB with Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania as having one of the largest enrollments of international undergraduate students in the U.S.

Dunnett says UB was among the very first U.S. universities to recruit and enroll large numbers of foreign students, and to provide the kinds of services that recognized their special language needs.

"Recently we have been particularly successful in recruiting increasing numbers of undergraduate students from China. UB now enrolls some 150 undergraduate Chinese students, and this number is expected to grow to more than 300 within a few years."

UB's history of offering overseas educational opportunities spans three decades.

In 1980, UB was the first U.S. university to negotiate an educational exchange agreement with China after diplomatic ties were reestablished between the two countries. In 1981, under the auspices of that historic agreement, UB established the UB Language Institute in Beijing on the campus of the Beijing Normal College of Foreign Languages and established educational exchanges with three Beijing universities. That same year, under the exchange agreement, China began to send students and faculty to UB. Among UB's prominent alumni are China's Minister of Education Zhou Ji and entrepreneur Yanhong "Robin" Li, founder and CEO of Baidu.com, the Chinese-language equivalent of Google.

In 2004 it began offering UB undergraduate degrees entirely overseas when it launched a full-fledged undergraduate business administration program in Singapore in cooperation with the Singapore Institute of Management, where UB has offered an Executive MBA program since 1996.

The UB undergraduate programs in Singapore have experienced rapid growth in enrollment. Baccalaureate degree programs in Communication and Psychology have been added—in 2005 and 2007, respectively—and a new program in Sociology is to be launched in May 2009.

In July, UB President John B. Simpson led a high-level delegation to Singapore to attend commencement ceremonies at which 113 students received their UB degrees. A third of these students received Latin Honors.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.