On January 21, the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security issued separate statements announcing new measures related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to retain international students specializing in this field.
As we all know, with the growing demand for related talents, STEM has been widely sought after as the most popular study abroad major at present!
According to the statistics of studying abroad in recent years, more than 40% of Chinese students have chosen STEM majors.
STEM majors are popular simply because they mean more jobs, great salaries, and three-year OPT internships.
The new policy of the US government this time is a major positive for the relevant international students.
Extend the working hours of STEM academic staff on the J-1 visa
To facilitate exchange visitors to come to the U.S. to pursue STEM research, the U.S. Department of State announced an extension of the duration of visas for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields under the J-1 visa — providing them with up to 36 months of additional academic training (previously 18 months).
This extension applies to the current (2021-2022) and subsequent (2022-2023) academic years.
U.S. media analysis pointed out that the U.S. government's move is intended to provide an alternative for researchers who intend to apply for H-1B (skilled work visa), because H-1B is the most popular type of visa for international students to stay in the United States, but due to the limited number of annual issuance, it is always out of short supply. Extending the J-1 visa will help increase the number of work visas so that more people can stay.
STEM OPT adds 22 new areas
The Department of Homeland Security also announced the addition of 22 new areas of study to STEM's Selective Practice Training (OPT) program to enhance the contribution of nonimmigrant students studying in STEM fields and to support the growth of the U.S. economy and innovation.
The 22 new areas are: bioenergy, general forestry, forest resources production and management, human-centered technology design, cloud computing, anthropology, climate science, earth system science, economics and computer science, environmental geoscience, geobiology, geography and environmental research, mathematical economics, mathematics and atmospheric and oceanographic science, general data science, General data analysis, business analysis, data visualization, financial analysis, other data analysis, industrial and organizational psychology, as well as social sciences, research methods and quantitative methods.
DHS also said the STEM OPT program allows F-1 students who earn a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in certain STEM fields to stay in the U.S. for up to 36 months to work in their fields of study.
Which schools award the most STEM degrees
Some time ago, Jon Boeckenstedt, Vice Provost of Admissions at Oregon State University, wrote a survey on "2019-2020 STEM Bachelor's Degree Awarded by U.S. Colleges and Universities" based on recent Data System for Integrated Higher Education (IPEDS) data.
According to the report, Penn State university was awarded 6,473 STEM degrees in 2019-20, the highest number of colleges and universities in the United States.
The other top 5 were the University of California, Berkeley, Texas A&M University, Arizona State University, and Purdue University, all of which had more than 4,000 STEM graduates that year.
The remaining top 20 are (all STEM graduates have at least 3,000):
University of California, San Diego
University of Washington, Seattle
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Ohio State University
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of California, Davis
University of Texas at Austin
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Maryland Park
University of California, Irvine
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Florida
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Georgia Institute of Technology
Virginia Tech
It can be seen that the above 20 schools are public universities, including 5 branches of the University of California.
In the top 20, with the exception of Arizona State University and Virginia Tech, the others are members of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU).
In a way, this ranking is not surprising. Each of the top 20 universities is a large institution that enrolls tens of thousands of students. On the other hand, the strengths of these schools do not only exist in STEM, but also in other aspects.
For example, among the top 20 universities with the most degrees in education majors, Arizona State University is included, and this school is also in the top 20 STEM degrees.
Similarly, business majors have a similar situation, with four universities appearing in both STEM and business top 20: Penn State, Arizona State University, University of Texas at Austin, and Ohio State University.
If we consider all bachelor's degrees, only 9 of the top 20 schools overlap STEM rankings.
It's worth noting, though, that it's the universities that have built up their faculty, facilities, and funding, as well as their ability and reputation in engineering and science, to have such high STEM degree productivity, which is a sign of the school's strength.
A city suitable for STEM professional employment
With a STEM degree, employment is also important, after all, our ultimate goal is to find a job with a good salary and benefits.
WalletHub compared the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States based on 21 indicators, including employment advantages, local STEM professional friendliness, and quality of life, and finally listed the cities in the United States that are suitable for STEM professional employment.
If you want to study in the United States and want to choose a school with excellent STEM majors, then these 10 cities and surrounding schools can be used as your school choice reference.
STEM Top 30
The criteria for this ranking are:
· STEM degree awards account for 40%
Teacher-student ratio 20%
20% of the cost
Graduation rate 10%
Freshman retention rate 10%
From this list, it is not difficult to find that polytechnic schools that are not optimistic in the US.News rankings are more dominant.
Below, Xiaobian recommends several TOP-ranked American universities in STEM majors, which can be used as a reference when choosing a school.
(1) California Institute of Technology
Caltech is small and the admission requirements are extremely high, so if you can get an offer from Caltech, it is enough to prove your strength in science and engineering!
In the QS World University Rankings 2022, it ranked 6th in the world, 2021U. S.News Is Ranked 9th in the World University Rankings.
STEM major hottest Top3: computer science, mechanical engineering, physics
(2) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for its top engineering and computer science, MIT is home to the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab (MIT CSAIL), the MIT Lincoln Lab, and the MIT Media Lab.
Ranked 1st in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2022, 2021U. S.News is ranked 4th in the World University Rankings.
STEM majors are the hottest Top 3: computer science, mechanical engineering, mathematics
(3) Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College is one of the top liberal arts and science colleges in the United States, a private elite college involved in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics, and its professional strength and student origin are often compared with MIT and Caltech.
The college only provides high-quality elite undergraduate education and does not have a graduate school.
According to the latest data from U.S. News, the school's engineering majors are ranked top 2 in the United States, of which mechanical engineering majors rank top 2 in the United States, electrical engineering majors rank top 3 in the United States, civil engineering majors rank top 4 in the United States, and computer science ranks in the top 20 in the United States.
Stem Majors Hottest Top3: General, Computer Science, Computer Science & Math & Physics Joint Program
(4) Ross Hohman Institute of Technology
You may not have heard of this university, but it is indeed a first-class polytechnic! The school emphasizes the quality of teaching and employment, and enjoys a high reputation in the engineering community in the United States and around the world.
In U.S.News' Undergraduate Non-Research University Engineering Rankings, Rose-Homan Institute of Technology has been ranked first for 21 consecutive years and 110th in the 2020 Forbes U.S. University Rankings.
STEM major hottest Top3: mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science
(5) Colorado University of Mines
The Colorado University of Mines is primarily dedicated to engineering and applied scientific research and is one of the world's strongest research institutions in the development, extraction and utilization of resources.
It is the first public institution of higher learning in Colorado and the first school of engineering in Colorado, with a good source of students and employment, and has an excellent reputation in the United States.
Ranked 59th in the 2022 U.S. News Ranking of America's Best Colleges of Engineering. Although the overall ranking is relatively low, for international students, the admission competition is still very fierce.
STEM major hottest Top3: mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering, chemical engineering
(6) Rice University
Rice University is a typical elite institution, maintaining a "small but fine" education model, the entrance competition is extremely fierce, and it is one of the most difficult universities in the United States.
Over the years, Rice University has been known for its engineering, management, science, arts, and anthropology, and has attracted many outstanding students to study with a high-level teaching attitude and small class size. Among them, the School of Engineering is the most famous, and the school's biochemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and CS majors are very outstanding. In addition, the Department of Space Physics at Rice University has close contacts with NASA and has a common research project.
Rice University is ranked high in various U.S. university rankings and ranked 16th in the united States in the overall 2022 U.S. Best Universities Rankings.
Stem majors hottest Top3: Computer and Information Science (General), Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
(7) Carnegie Mellon University
The CS major ranked 2nd in the United States, and the subdivision majors were No. 1 in the United States in artificial intelligence, network security, and software engineering; No. 2 in the United States in biocomputing/bioinformatics/biotechnology and programming languages; and 3rd in computer systems, data analysis/data science, and computer theory.
STEM majors are the hottest Top3: electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, mechanical industry engineering
(8) Cornell University
Cornell University is the strongest vine school in science and engineering.
In the U.S. News ranking, its CS major ranks in the top 5 in the United States, and the engineering major ranks in the top 9 in the United States. In addition, its performance in the STEM subdivision of the professional field is even more outstanding, it can be said that as long as you can think of the STEM major, it is exquisite.
STEM majors are the hottest Top3: Biology, Computer Science, Agricultural Economics