Education remains a cornerstone of the Vietnam-US relations, according to Open Doors, an annual report published by the Institute of International Education headquartered in New York, the United States. 

Vietnamese students perform in a cultural exchange program in the US.
(Photo: VNA)

The latest Open Doors report shows international students represented 5.5% of US higher education students with 1,075,496 students in the 2019-2020 academic year. 

Notably, Vietnam remained the sixth leading country of origin for all international higher education students in the US, with 23,777 students studying at US institutions of higher education in 2019-2020. They contributed US$827 million to the US economy annually, says the report.  

Of the total number of Vietnamese students enrolled in higher education in the US, 69.8% were undergraduates, 15.3% were graduate level students, 11.4% enrolled in Optional Practical Training (OPT), and the remaining 3.5% were pursuing non-degree programs. 

The data also shows a slight increase of 0.6% in the number of American students studying abroad in Vietnam, from 1,228 in 2017-18 to 1,235 in 2018-19.

The Open Doors report is released annually during International Education Week (IEW), which is a joint initiative spearheaded by the US Department of State and the US Department of Education to celebrate the benefits of international education and intercultural exchanges worldwide. The US Mission to Vietnam is celebrating IEW 2020 by holding virtual information sessions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to promote study in the US and provide information about US student visas and US government-sponsored scholarship opportunities. 

According to a media release by the US Embassy in Vietnam on November 19, the US Mission to Vietnam will continue to promote opportunities for Vietnamese students to study in the US through its EducationUSA services, American Centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and American Hangouts in Can Tho and An Giang.