California State University, Long Beach Ranks 5th Nationally in Number of International Students Enrolled at the Campus

California State University, Long Beach is a popular campus for international students, judging by its No. 5 national ranking among master's degree level institutions that have students from other countries.

A total of 1,751 international students from more than 100 countries ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe chose to study at CSULB during 2000-01. Japan topped the list with more than 400 students followed by Taiwan and Korea.

More than 50 percent of the international students selected majors in the College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering.

The ranking is based on the latest "Open Doors" report, which also noted Los Angeles County as having the most international students--24,811--of any county in the nation and California as the leading state with 74,281. The "Open Doors 2001" report, published by the Institute of International Education with support from the U.S. State Department, indicated an increase of 6.4 percent in the number of international students attending U.S. colleges and universities.
San Francisco State was the only other California campus in the top five.

According to Paul Lewis, director of the Center for International Education (CIE), there are several reasons for CSULB's high ranking.

"First of all, we have good academic programs to attract students," Lewis explained. "Second, we have one stop shopping in the sense that CIE takes care of all of their needs. We do the admission processes, and international admissions interfaces very carefully with our Student Services Division. So, there is a seamless process from the time of inquiry to when they begin classes. Also, as a university we do a certain amount of outreach to international students by traveling to several countries."

One of those students, Mieko Otsu, found a travel and tourism program in CSULB's Recreation and Leisure Studies Department that was unavailable in Japan. Takako Kudo, also from Japan, discovered she could pursue international studies with the career goal of being a translator using her Japanese, English and sign language skills.

Moncef Riahi from Tunisia chose Cal State Long Beach for its "good business program for undergraduates" and plans to continue on for a master's in computer science. "I also liked the campus the first time I visited CSULB," he said. "The campus is very beautiful and people are very friendly here. Also, professors are willing to help students during their office hours by answering any question that arises."

Lewis believes international students benefit a campus by adding cultural diversity. "Many American students are unable to travel abroad for any length of time so we have a large number of international students they can get to know and form friendships," he noted.
"It's not just students who benefit but also the campus climate," Lewis continued. "In the classroom international students are able to project a different viewpoint perhaps than might have been given if it were just a mono cultural class. Even in the sciences people from other cultures see the world differently so that enriches the classroom."

Konstantin Fedunin-Jarvis, a criminal justice major from Russia, summarized his feelings about CSULB. "This campus brings many cultures and traditions together and creates memorable moments that will be instilled in you your whole life."

Cal State Long Beach continues its popularity among international students; applications for fall 2002 were up 100 over the previous year.