By Graham Andrews and Amanda Shaffer
New data from the Institute of International Education (IIE) show steep declines in international students enrolling and studying in graduate-level programs at universities in the United States – and they may be only the beginning of an even more dramatic drop resulting from administration policies. While the drop outlined in the new IIE report is significant, the enrollment data do not yet fully reflect the effects of recent Trump administration policies affecting international students.
IIE’s Fall 2025 Snapshot, which is based on responses from a subset of universities that participate in its annual Open Doors report, shows that new international student enrollment declined by 17% in the fall semester of 2025. The snapshot also shows that in the fall of 2025:
- The overall international student population in the United States fell by 1%.
- The number of international graduate students decreased by 12%.
- The international undergraduate population increased by 2%.
- The number of international students participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) following completion of their degree programs increased by 14%. (OPT allows international students to gain practical work experience in their field of study for a fixed period after graduation.)
If the Fall 2025 Snapshot data hold true for the full 2025-26 academic year, the 12% decline in international graduate students would almost match the largest single-year decline on record (12.1%) from 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trend of declining international graduate student populations did not start in 2025, however. The full Open Doors report reveals that graduate enrollment fell almost 3% in the 2024-25 academic year, driven mostly by declines in international students in master’s programs. At the same time, international doctoral enrollment increased by more than 2% in the 2024-25 academic year.
The chart below shows how international enrollment has changed over time by academic level; it includes insights for the 2025-26 academic year based on the Fall 2025 snapshot.
Even though a 12% decline in international graduate enrollment in fall 2025 is nearly the largest single-year decline on record, there is reason to believe that the data do not reveal the full extent of the effects of the Trump administration’s policies seeking to limit the ability of international students to enroll and complete their degrees at U.S. universities and gain practical training or work experience following graduation.
This is because many of the administration’s policies, some of which have yet to be finalized or go into effect, were announced after universities had already completed the 2025-26 admissions cycle. Students starting at U.S. colleges and universities this fall, therefore, have been somewhat insulated from the full scope of changes to international education and visas in the United States.
A widely anticipated change to OPT could especially hurt future international student interest in the United States as a higher education destination. Studies have shown that the OPT program is a key factor influencing international students’ decision to study in the United States. In a recent survey of current international students conducted by the Institute for Progress and NAFSA, a majority (54%) of current international students said they would not have enrolled at a U.S.-based university had OPT not been available to them. These attitudes indicate that the large decreases in graduate enrollment reported in the Fall 2025 snapshot may be a precursor to more pronounced reductions in the future.
The newly released Open Doors data preview changes to international student populations at America’s colleges and universities. Future data will be pivotal in revealing how recent policy efforts are affecting America’s role as a top destination globally for learning, research, and innovation.
Graham Andrews is research analyst at AAU; Amanda Shaffer is junior research analyst at AAU.