While the majority of international students enrolled in the University are graduate students majoring in engineering or science, only about 25 percent of all international students are women, according to documents from the Office of International Programs.

"Many factors that operate to prevent women from getting equal opportunities in education are intensified in other countries," said Donna Hughes, an instructor for the Women's Studies Program.

"Many foreign countries still have very strong sex stereotypes so it is difficult for a women to become educated," Hughes said.

She added that the low amount of educated women in other countries is a cultural problem without an easy solution.

"It's not that we don't want female international students. It's just that education opportunities in other countries are not always open to women," said James Lynch, associate director of the Office of International Programs.

With more than 2,100 students attending the University from different parts of the globe, most agree that the variety of cultures enhance the community.

"This University has a very good program for international students partly because it seeks to admit students from different backgrounds and partly because it has a reputation as being an excellent college," said Morad Slaoui, vice president of the International Student Council.

Slaoui said 81 percent of all international students are graduate students, because their home countries usually do not offer strong research facilities for high-level study.

Engineering and science are the most common majors for international students, according to documents from the Office of International Programs.

"I think the reason most international students are engineering or science majors is because many countries are involved in the transfer of technology," Slaoui said, who is studying engineering at the University.

"Many countries are encouraging students to study abroad so that the students can return after completing their studies and help their country advance," Slaoui said.

The number of international students attending the University this fall was 17 students short of the 1988 enrollment.

"The number of international students varies from year to year so the drop in number of students cannot be attributed to one reason or another," said Slaoui.

"We only dropped 17 from our figures last year, which is within the margin of error, so I don't look at it as a drop in the number of international students, but more as a leveling off," Lynch said.