Foreign Students Fuel $127 Million Revenue At UTD Even As Enrollment Falls

Records from the University of Texas at Dallas indicate that the university collected more than $127 million in tuition and mandatory fees from international students in two fall semesters, even as foreign enrollment declined by more than 1,300 students.

UTD generated $71,619,671 in tuition and mandatory fees from international students in Fall 2024 and $55,437,371 in Fall 2025, according to documents obtained by The Dallas Express through a Texas Public Information Act request.

By comparison, the total amount collected in tuition fees and revenue from all students in the 2024-2025 school year was $268,222,448, according to the UTD Operating Budget.

Foreign student revenue increased despite a sharp year-over-year decline in international enrollment at UTD. The university enrolled 5,603 foreign students in Fall 2024, compared with 4,298 in Fall 2025 — a drop of 1,305 students, or 23%.

In Fall 2024, international students made up 19% of UTD’s total enrollment of 29,886 students.

More than half of the university’s graduate population — 55% — consisted of foreign nationals. Most of the foreign student population came from India.

In Fall 2024, 3,602 students from India were enrolled at UTD, accounting for 64% of all international students and 12% of the university’s total student body. This number decreased in Fall 2025. However, Indians still comprised 57% of the international student body.

In the fall of 2025, Chinese nationals constituted the second-largest cohort of foreign students (9%), and “other” students constituted the third-largest cohort (6%).

Foreign students pay substantially higher fees than Texas residents. In the 2025-2026 school year, in-state tuition was $14,644 and out-of-state tuition was $40,164, according to the university website.

UTD administrators also provided substantial financial aid to foreign students. The university awarded $28,138,241 in aid to international students in Fall 2024 and $26,684,238 in Fall 2025. Of that amount, Indian students received more than $20 million combined in Fall 2024 and 2025.

During the same period, Chinese students received the second-highest amount of aid, at approximately $9 million, and Bangladeshi students received the third-highest amount, at approximately $5.5 million.

The aid totals include grants, scholarships, athletics awards, exemptions, and waivers, according to the university’s Office of Financial Aid.

The figures come amid broader scrutiny of public universities’ involvement in immigration pathways and visa programs. A prior report by The Dallas Express found that UTD spent more than $1.1 million between September 2020 and August 2025 sponsoring foreign workers through the H-1B visa program.

While student visas and employment visas are separate programs in most cases, international education can serve as the first stage in a longer immigration pipeline that may include Optional Practical Training and eventual H-1B sponsorship, according to immigration guidance published by Boundless Immigration.

UTD President Dr. Prabhas V. Moghe and the university’s communications office did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.

The following tables are reproduced in full from the records provided by UTD: