Return on investment in international education is key in student decision-making

More than ever, international students, and their families, are focused on potential return on investment for their international education choices. According to IDP’s Emerging Futures 7 research, evidence of job outcomes is the top non-academic factor among international students when they choose an institution. ‘High quality of education’ is consistently the top academic factor, and across our longitudinal surveys, we see that students link their definition of this to graduate employment outcomes, more so than institution ranking and quality of academic staff in some markets. This demonstrates that the tangible outcomes from international study are crucial.

Here we look at results from IDP’s latest Emerging Futures survey to highlight the top motivations for international study. Key points in this article include:

• Career development remains the primary motivator for international study.

• Student understanding of whether an institution provides ‘high-quality education’ is now largely based on its ‘graduate employment rate’.

• 'Job outcomes from the institution’ was the top non-academic factor when choosing an institution for 58% of international students.

• Across all respondent groups, 29% intend to work in their study destination after completing their education.

Emerging Futures 7 is a survey of more than 6,000 students from 106 countries, conducted in February 2025. By understanding student attitudes, motivations and perceptions, we, as a sector, can ensure we provide the right information and services to support their educational aspirations.

We asked respondents to choose the motivational reasons behind their choice to study for an international qualification. From a list of 14 reasons the top choice was ‘career development’, with just over 67% of the whole cohort choosing this motivation. (Education quality came in closely behind at just under 67%).

‘Career development’ is the leading reason across most markets, with particularly high importance in the Philippines (80%), Bangladesh (77%), and India (77%). Students from China chose this as a motivation much less frequently (43%), indicating different reasons for international study.

Longitudinally, ‘career development’ maintains its position as the primary motivator globally and is consistently chosen by most respondents (69% in EF1 March 2022 to 67% in EF7).

Soft skills, such as acquiring knowledge, professional networking, gaining independence, and cultural immersion sit further down at third (56%), sixth (46%), ninth (40%) and tenth (39%) respectively among the whole global cohort.

Interestingly, ‘migration’ came in near the bottom at 13 out of 14 choices, with only 26% of the global cohort picking this factor. Among the ten highest respondent countries for this question (India, China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ghana, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), students from Philippines and Sri Lanka were most interested in ‘migration’ (63% and 46% respectively). Students from China were the least interested in ‘migration’ (10%), followed by Nepal (15%) and Indonesia (18%).

Actionable Insights

• Career-focused messaging will resonate with students – institutions and governments should highlight employability outcomes, salary benefits, and graduate success stories.

• Education quality remains a primary draw – marketing efforts should showcase academic excellence, faculty expertise, and rankings.

• Networking and professional exposure are important differentiators – programmes offering internships, industry connections, and international partnerships can be more attractive.

Across all source markets, the top five most important factors for students in guiding their understanding of whether an institution provides ‘high quality education’, were:

• Graduate employment rate

• Institution ranking

• Facilities available to students

• Quality of academic staff

• Cost of tuition fees

'Graduate employment rate' is consistently ranked as one of the top three important factors across ten key source markets answering this question (India, China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ghana, Nepal, Vietnam), highlighting the importance of showcasing alumni employment outcomes in recruitment and marketing materials.

Among the ten key source markets, only students from China, Nigeria, and Nepal ranked 'student satisfaction survey results' as one of the top five important factors.

The top non-academic factors that were important to students when choosing an institution were:

• Job outcomes from the institution – 58%

• Range of scholarships – 53%

• Access to part-time work opportunities – 52%

• Student visa support services – 46%

• Location within the destination country (e.g., state, region or province) – 37%

Key differences in top source markets

India: ‘Job outcomes from the institution’ (69%), ‘range of scholarships’ (55%), ‘access to part-time work opportunities’ (54%), ‘student visa support services’ (39%), ‘location within the destination country’ (37%).

China: ‘Job outcomes from the institution’ (54%), ‘diverse and inclusive campus communities’ (51%), ‘student visa support services’ (42%), ‘student or alumni experiences’ (39%), ‘access to part-time work opportunities’ (37%).

Nigeria: ‘Access to part-time work opportunities’ (65%), ‘student visa support services’ (57%), ‘range of scholarships’ (55%), ‘job outcomes from the institution’ (53%), ‘accommodation options’ (46%).

Actionable insights

• International students are likely to be influenced by institution messaging on career support services, financial aid, job opportunities, and visa assistance depending on target market preferences.

• Providing comprehensive pre-arrival support, promoting employment pathways, and ensuring a welcoming, diverse campus environment will help institutions stand out in an increasingly competitive global education landscape.

We asked the cohort “What do you intend to / did you do after completing your international studies?" Of the global respondents, 56% answered that they intend to stay in their study destination.

Of these, almost a third (29%) intend to work or are working in their study destination.

The intention to work in their study destination was particularly strong among Indian respondents, where nearly half (45%) of current students, 44% of prospective, and 43% of applied students indicated this preference.

A large proportion of Chinese and Indonesian students return home

Compared to other nationalities, Chinese and Indonesian students show a strong preference for working in their home country (42% and 50% respectively).

On average, about 27% of all global students go back to their home countries.

Other notable outcomes:

• 26% of Chinese students and 22% of Kenyan students undertake further studies

• 37% of Filipino students seek permanent residency

Actionable insights

Institutions with portfolios strongly linked to their country’s key skills shortages should target markets with higher student interest in post-graduation careers and/or seeking migration opportunities.

In Emerging Futures 7, when we asked the cohort to rate their perceptions of the graduate employment opportunities in the destination countries, Australia came out on top. The USA, Canada, and the UK, which have often been rated above Australia in previous iterations of the research, all recorded decreasing scores in this survey.

To stay competitive, messaging to prospective students and strategies for source market engagement must combine with a keen awareness of source market programme preferences and skills shortages within the study destination and back at home. Institutions with portfolios that are strongly linked to the country’s key skill needs should seek out and target source markets with corresponding high subject demand and interest in post-graduation careers or migration.

Networking and professional exposure are important differentiators, programmes offering internships, industry connections, and international partnerships can be more attractive.

Career-focused messaging will resonate with students, and institutions and governments should highlight employability outcomes, salary benefits, and graduate success stories.

While quality of education remains a primary draw for students, marketing efforts should showcase employability outcomes as well as academic excellence, faculty expertise, and rankings.

Ultimately, international students are likely to be highly influenced by institution messaging on career support services and job opportunities, as well as financial aid and visa assistance depending on target market preferences.

Providing comprehensive pre-arrival support, promoting employment pathways, and ensuring a welcoming, diverse campus environment will help institutions stand out in an increasingly competitive global education landscape.

Simon Emmett, Chief Partner Officer at IDP Education, stated that the Emerging Futures 7 findings underscore the mutually beneficial relationships between international students and host countries.

"We know that international students choose their study destination based on factors that help them become job ready, with access to post-study employment visas being the key influence,” said Mr Emmett.

“Simultaneously, we observe that international students are increasingly able to address essential skill shortages in the destination workforces.

"The research serves as a timely reminder for governments and policymakers to embrace the international student cohort, who go on to fill vital skill gaps and foster long-lasting diplomatic ties between their home and host countries.”