Education special: How study abroad can support working abroad
In the US, immigration is a heated topic. A part of that conversation is the thousands of degree-seeking international students who move to the US every year, many with hopes to stay after completion. But what about those US students who decide to study abroad and then want to stay abroad? The World’s Carolyn Beeler, asks Amine Mechaal, director of global engagement at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York, to break down the hurdles students face to stay in their host countries.
The planet is big, and the urge to explore and see what’s out there can be powerful, especially when you’re young.
For The World’s latest education special, we looked into American students seeking opportunities to live in other countries and international students coming to America, often hoping to stay.
In 2023, the number of international students in the US bounced back to almost prepandemic levels. More students worldwide seek higher education in the US than in any other country.
There are many American students who study abroad, too, though it is usually only for a semester or academic year.
“Study abroad is not as popular all over the world as it is here in the US. And it’s not funded by private and public sector donors or funders as it is here in the US,” said Amine Mechaal, director of global engagement at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York.
Mechaal said these short-term study abroad programs make it harder for American students to stay in their host country.
“Usually, students who embark on these study abroad experiences are first-year, second-year and third-year students,” he said. “That’s why it’s very difficult for students who participate in these programs to decide to work and adjust their status in the host country and reside there because they’re still required to come back and finish their degree.”
The World’s host, Carolyn Beeler, spoke to Mechaal about the hurdles students face to stay abroad.
Carolyn Beeler: There is no definitive data on how many Americans leave for other countries after they graduate, but there are many who do. Who are those American students trying to live and work abroad?
Amine Mechaal: We are talking about a completely different category of US students who embark on international journeys. We are talking here about those participating in nondegree programs, for example, those going through the Fulbright or other [US] State Department-funded opportunities or any other opportunity that a private sponsor or an international governance organization funds. Those students usually apply in their final years, and they graduate by the time of their travel to the host country. And those are the [students] more likely to decide to leave and reside abroad. We are talking about 188,000 US students participating in credits-bearing programs abroad in 2023. And we’re only talking about 13,000 students who participated in nondegree and noncredit programs.
US students from Columbia University visit the Apartheid Museum in South Africa with Amine Mechaal, director of global engagement at Columbia University’s Teachers CollegeCourtesy of Office of Global Engagement at Teachers College.
So, what are some of the reasons these students from the US decide to stay abroad?
Pursuing a career abroad can be very rewarding, especially right after graduation, for many reasons. No. 1 is that there is absolutely less competition abroad for American students than here in the US. No. 2 is the type of jobs that students are expected to assume abroad. These jobs mostly relate to the fact that these students are native speakers of English, so they are related to teaching English or to administrative jobs within the sphere of education. These are the jobs that we see our alums assuming abroad.
That is interesting. So, we’ve been focusing on the trends of US students leaving home and pursuing careers abroad, but I do want to touch briefly on international students here in the US. There are reports that the number of students coming to the US and from the US is very high post-COVID. How many are there here?
Well, I can tell you that the numbers are higher than in COVID[-19], but we are still not seeing the numbers we had pre-COVID. But there is not much difference. For example, when we talk about the latest reported data for the academic year ’22-23, which is again considered post-COVID, we are talking about over 1,050,000 international students who are actually studying in the US. Before that, in Covid, of course, it was low, but even before that, it was closer to 1,200,000 students. So, we see this kind of growth that we see. And I feel like if COVID[-19] had never happened, we would have seen that gradual growth from 2018 until today.
Amine Mechaal speaks to students and staff about global initiatives.Courtesy of Office of Global Engagement at Teachers College
I wonder if you have an international education experience that has led you down the career path that has landed you where you are today.
Absolutely. I’m originally from Morocco and came to the US for the first time as a Fulbright scholar. So it’s one of those nondegree international experiences that I was talking about. I was studying and teaching at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, and everything else started from there. Like everything I’m doing right now, everything I’ve achieved started when I first embarked on that journey, when I was on that flight that brought me from Casablanca to New York. That’s why whenever I talk about international experiences or even create initiatives for more global engagement and international mobility at the level of our institution, I make sure that students are aware of the prospects of how a life-changing experience that can be.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
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