Program Options at U.S. Academic Institutions

English Language Programs: Often referred to as ESL Programs (or English as a Second Language Programs), these courses vary from elementary through intermediate to advanced. Duration also varies, depending on the intensity of the course. At the beginning of the program, many institutions offer a widely recognized exam that measures your English proficiency in a variety of ways. They may also offer the exam at the end of the program, to measure your success. One popular exam is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a product of Education Testing Services of New Jersey. Other exams, such as MELAB or IELTS, are gaining popularity. Some exams are computer-based or Internet-based, while others are taken with pencil and paper.

Business / Management: These fields comprise the most popular subject of study among foreign students in the United States. Examples of Business / Management courses include Accounting, Business Administration, Advertising, Electronic Business, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Marketing, Sales Management, Industrial Management, Health Care Management, Human Resources, Information Systems Management, Materials Management, Production / Operations, International Business, Management of Technology, Quality Management, and Supply Chain Management.

Engineering: Engineering is another very popular academic field for international students in the USA. Examples include Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Engineering Management, Environmental Engineering, Systems Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Engineering Applied Mathematics.

Math / Computer Sciences / Information Technology: International enrollments in Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Information Technology has risen sharply in the past few years. Students from China and India constitute a significant proportion of non-U.S. students in those fields, whose graduates work as database administrators, digital security analysts, eCommerce developers, game designers, programmers, software designers, systems analysts, and web developers.

Social Sciences: The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy defines the term as the study of how groups of people behave, often in an effort to predict how they will behave in the future. Technically, the Social Sciences include economics, anthropology, sociology, political science, and aspects of psychology and history.

Physical / Life Sciences: The phrase Physical / Life Sciences identifies an area of interest that spans a large part of Natural Sciences: Biological Sciences, Botany, Marine Science, Microbiology, Medicine, Physiology and Zoology, for example. There are also many courses which address biological issues in Human Ecology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics, among others. U.S. colleges and universities are increasingly tolerant of interdisciplinary studies, which combine two or more different disciplines.

Health Professions: This field comprises a broad spectrum of subsets such as Health Information Technology, Emergency Medical Technology, Administration, Nurse Anesthesia, Child and Adolescent Health, Behavioral Health, and Adult / Gerontological Health.

Education: The field of Education may be divided into sections such as Adolescence to Young Adult, Early Childhood, Intervention Specialist, Middle Childhood, Secondary Education, Multi-Age, Vocational, Counseling, and Special Education.

The Arts:The Arts make up a small portion of non-U.S. students in the States. Particular subjects include Art, Art History, Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Studio Art, Communication, Dance, Theatre, Interior Design, and Music.

Technical / Vocational: Some of the fastest-growing industries in the world rely on technical / vocational expertise. Examples include architectural drafting, automotive technology, fashion marketing, hospitality careers, interior design, music technology, and technical project management.