Global Engagement continues to focus on student and faculty mobility as a key part of DePaul University's internationalization strategy. Despite the growing challenges in this area such as increased concerns about safety and security and the high costs of international education, both domestically and abroad, we remain committed to providing life changing international experiences for our faculty and students. Gaining global perspectives through international and intercultural experience prepares our students to become more thoughtful, engaged and globally-aware citizens. Below are a few data points about our work in this area.
- Study Abroad administered 74 programs and supported 960 students in studying abroad in 2016-17, which is 9% fewer students than prior year (1053 students in 2015-16). The biggest decline came in the short-term faculty led programs, which experienced a 12% decline (613 students versus 695 prior year), and 5 fewer programs than prior year (40 versus 45). Our term-long participation declined by 3% (347 versus 358 prior year), and we administered one additional program (34 programs, versus 33 prior year).
- While study abroad participation remains at only 3.4% of total university enrollment, our percentage of underrepresented student participation remains higher than national averages (22% at DePaul versus 14.9% Nationwide, per Open Doors Report 2014-15).
- Europe continued to be the most popular regional destination for our students (60%), followed by Asia (17%), Latin America (6%), and the Caribbean (5.2%).
- Our international (F/J) student population grew to 1850, an increase of 1.5% over prior year. This represents a much slower growth rate than from the 11.7% growth rate experienced between 2014-15 and 2015-16. A major contributor to this slower growth is the scale back of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission's King Abdullah Scholarship Program (SACM).In our sponsored SACM student population alone, we experienced a 40% decline (167 students, versus 281 year prior).
- China continues to be predominant source country (30.7%), followed by India (8.9%), Saudi Arabia (6.2), and Korea and Nigeria (both at 2.1%).
- Our international students continue to perform well academically while they are here, with strong average GPAs at time of graduation (UG =3.24; Graduate = 3.59; and Law = 3.12).