8月抵美留学生跌至27.7万人、较2024年少28%：中国学生约减2.3万人，博士申请跌21%
《自然》（Nature）杂志11月13日报道，联邦国家旅游办公室（National Travel and Tourism Office）数据显示，今年8月开学季持学生签证抵达美国的国际学生为27.7万人，较2024年8月的38.7万人下降28%，为2020年新冠疫情低谷以来的最低水平。
下降主要由印度与中国生源带动：2024年至2026年间，印度学生约减少5万人，中国学生约减少2.3万人。美国大学协会（AAU）对旗下55所研究型大学的调查同时显示，国际学生申请美国博士项目的人数过去一年下降21%。
报道指出，留学生是美国科研力量的重要来源：2024年，美国授予的科学与工程博士学位中，38%由国际学生获得。加州大学圣迭戈分校物理学家 Nigel Goldenfeld 表示，减少国际学生等于把关键科学领域的主导权让给中国与欧洲；波士顿学院高等教育研究者 Chris Glass 则表示，签证与旅行限制带来的不确定性，已经影响到学生对赴美留学是否仍是稳定投入的判断。
背景方面，特朗普政府自2025年初上任以来推出多项签证与国际旅行限制，上月还曾试图对参加毕业后实习项目 OPT 的科学与工程学生征收10万美元费用，该项目由国土安全部提出，理由是打击欺诈、维护移民体系完整并保护美国工人；联邦法官目前已暂停这项 OPT 收费及另外几项限制移民的做法。白宫发言人未回应《自然》的置评请求。
英国、加拿大与澳大利亚在收紧国际学生政策后也出现入学人数下降，但 Glass 认为美国的政策限制程度更强。大学预算因此进一步承压，后续影响仍待观察。（来源：《自然》杂志）
International Student Arrivals in August Fall to 277,000, Down 28% From 2024: Chinese Students Down About 23,000, PhD Applications Drop 21%
The number of international students arriving in the United States on student visas in August, at the start of the academic year, fell to 277,000 in 2026, down 28% from 387,000 in August 2024 and the lowest level since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Nature reported on November 13, citing data from the federal National Travel and Tourism Office.
The decline was driven mainly by students from India and China: from 2024 to 2026, the number of Indian students fell by about 50,000 and the number of Chinese students by about 23,000. A survey of 55 members of the Association of American Universities (AAU) also found that applications from international students to U.S. PhD programs fell 21% over the past year.
International students are a major part of the U.S. research workforce: in 2024 they earned 38% of the science and engineering PhDs awarded in the United States. Nigel Goldenfeld, a physicist at the University of California, San Diego, said reducing international students would cede U.S. dominance in critical scientific fields to China and Europe, while Boston College higher-education researcher Chris Glass said uncertainty created by visa and travel restrictions has changed how students judge whether a U.S. education is still a stable investment.
The Trump administration has introduced several restrictions on visas and international travel since early 2025. Last month it also attempted to place a $100,000 levy on science and engineering students enrolling in extended Optional Practical Training (OPT); the Department of Homeland Security said the proposal was meant to combat fraud, strengthen the integrity of the immigration system and protect U.S. workers. Federal judges have suspended the OPT charge and several other efforts to curb immigration. A White House spokesperson did not respond to Nature's request for comment.
The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia have also seen drops in international enrollment after placing new limits, but Glass said U.S. policies are especially restrictive. University budgets, already strained, face further pressure as the declines continue. (Source: Nature)
来源：《自然》杂志
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国路易斯安那州新奥尔良 Tulane University 校园内的学生（资料图，非文中具体学校）。Tulane Public Relations 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 自托管。 / Photo: Students on the Tulane University campus in New Orleans, Louisiana (file photo). By Tulane Public Relations, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, self-hosted.
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