Trends in Chinese student majors US universities 2010-2023

1. Why the headline “Peak and Pullback” matters for majors and enrollment

The most consistent factual claim across the provided analyses is that Chinese enrollment in the U.S. peaked around 2019 at roughly 370,000 students and declined after the pandemic, falling to roughly 289,000–290,000 by 2023–2024; this overall contraction constrains any interpretation of major‑level trends because fewer students mean both absolute and proportional shifts are possible ^{[1] [2]}. Sources also report a 2019 high and post‑2019 drop driven by travel restrictions, pandemic effects, and rising geopolitical and security scrutiny—policies and social context that plausibly influenced application choices and visa outcomes for Chinese students, especially in sensitive STEM fields ^{[2] [6]}. Understanding majors therefore requires separating a decline in total population from preferential shifts among those who still enroll, but the provided sources do not publish year‑by‑year major breakdowns for 2010–2023, so inferred patterns rely on cross‑sectional snapshots and institutional reports rather than a continuous longitudinal dataset ^{[3] [5]}.

2. Who chose STEM and business — and why that pattern persists

Multiple analyses and secondary reports indicate that STEM fields (computer science, engineering, mathematics) and business/economics have long been the dominant choices for Chinese students in the U.S., driven by career prospects, higher wages, and structured postgraduate pathways that favor technical and commercial skills ^{[4] [5]}. Survey evidence cited by institutions and commentators finds concentrated enrollment of Chinese students in software engineering, electronic engineering, computer science, and finance, particularly at selective institutions and in graduate programs where professional outcomes matter most ^{[6] [4]}. The persistence of these choices across the 2010–2023 window is plausible because both sending‑country labor market incentives and U.S. university offerings remained stable, even as total numbers fluctuated; the materials show continuity in sectoral preferences rather than wholesale major realignment ^{[3] [5]}.

3. Graduate vs undergraduate composition altered the major picture

The analyses report a relative increase in graduate‑level Chinese participation alongside a decline in undergraduate numbers during the pandemic era, which changes the major mix because graduate programs skew toward specialized STEM and business master’s degrees while undergraduates include broader humanities and social science enrollments ^{[4] [2]}. Sources note an approximate undergraduate drop and modest graduate rise in the early 2020s, implying Chinese students who continued to enroll were more likely to be in advanced professional or research programs that align with STEM and business disciplines; this concentration at the graduate level amplifies the prominence of STEM/business in reported snapshots ^[4]. The provided materials do not offer a precise year‑by‑year decomposition of degree level by major from 2010–2023, so conclusions rely on these aggregate shifts and institutional trend notes ^{[3] [7]}.

4. Policy, pandemic and political context reshaped demand and choices

The documents repeatedly link enrollment and major trends to external shocks: COVID‑19 border closures, evolving U.S. visa and national‑security scrutiny (including actions targeted at Chinese researchers and students in certain STEM areas), and U.S.–China tensions, all of which reduced total flows and likely deterred some applicants from sensitive STEM research or from studying in the U.S. at all ^{[2] [6]}. These contextual pressures help explain both the post‑2019 decline and continued concentration in applied STEM and business, because risk‑averse students and families may have preferred professional degrees with clearer career paths or shifted toward other destinations; the cited sources frame these external factors as primary drivers rather than changes in student taste alone ^{[6] [4]}.

5. Gaps in the record — why precise 2010–2023 major trends remain uncertain

All supplied analyses acknowledge a lack of comprehensive longitudinal major‑by‑major data across 2010–2023 within the cited pieces; some sources provide snapshots (e.g., 2019 peak, 2022/23 distributions) or institutional surveys that list popular majors without a continuous yearly series ^{[3] [5] [1]}. Statista references suggest business/management and math/computer science were large shares in 2023/24, but paywalled limitations prevent precise percentage tracking across the decade in these excerpts ^[5]. Because of these documentation gaps, any claim about detailed directional shifts in specific majors over 2010–2023 must be treated as an inference built from aggregate enrollment totals, graduate/undergraduate composition changes, and repeated cross‑sectional reports rather than as a confirmed year‑by‑year registry ^{[3] [7]}.

6. Bottom line: stable preferences, fewer students, and room for more data

The convergent finding across sources is that Chinese students remained concentrated in STEM and business across 2010–2023 even as total enrollment contracted after 2019, with graduate‑level composition increasing and policy/pandemic dynamics shaping choices; however, the absence of a continuous major‑level time series in the cited materials prevents definitive claims about year‑to‑year shifts in major shares, creating a clear need for more granular IIE, SEVIS, or institutional reporting to answer the question decisively ^{[4] [3] [5]}.