Oxford University Among Top Global Choices for Int'l Students, Research Finds

Oxford University is one of the most popular universities in the United Kingdom for international students, according to a new study that included more than 380 universities worldwide.

The institution ranked 17th globally, with 1.6 million searches worldwide over the past year while it ranked second in the United Kingdom, Erudera.com reports.

The study by Remitly, a digital financial services provider for immigrants from around the world, did not include searches from each university’s home country.

Oxford ranks first globally in other rankings, such as the Times Higher Education. The university secured first place for eight years in a row, specifically in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, according to the university’s data.

More than 26,000 students at Oxford, including undergraduates (12,470) and postgraduates (13,920), attend the university. International students represent 46 percent of the total student body.

Data from December 1, 2022, show that the number of international students at the university totals 12,075. The latter usually hail from over 160 countries.

The institution is quite selective and usually offers only about 3,300 places. Last year, it received 23,000 applications.

Next to Oxford on the list of top 20 institutions, the University of Edinburgh ranked 15th, with a total of 1.7 million global searches, topping the UK list. Two Australian universities, Monash University and University of Melbourne, also made it into the top 20.

Moreover, findings show that universities across the United States took the first seven spots among the top ten, including the first place. Harvard University, the oldest higher education institution in the US, secured the first spot.

Based on data from the Center for World University Rankings for 2021/22 to analyze which universities people were searching for the most, Remitly found that Harvard had about 10 million searches yearly.

The report “Where the World Wants to Study: The Countries Students Are Searching to Study in the Most” revealed that US-based students mainly prefer Washington universities like the University of Washington or Washington State University.

“Elsewhere, the results revealed that likely due to the size of the country, many students are searching for studying opportunities a little closer to home in their neighbouring states, with the likes of students in North Carolina searching most for colleges in South Carolina...” the report said.

The same unveiled the University of Michigan’s popularity, which enrolls over 30,000 students, with international students making up 8 percent of the total.