Among young Indians surveyed who would consider studying abroad, nearly half say their interest has declined over the past year, with rising costs and immigration uncertainty weighing on their plans as international universities offer alternatives closer to home.
Emeritus’s India Gen Z Outlook 2026: The No Cap Generation found that 71% of respondents were interested in overseas study, although 48% of that group said their interest had declined compared with a year earlier.
Among those reporting declining interest, 37% cited rising costs, 26% pointed to visa and immigration policies, and 24% identified safety and political uncertainty in other countries.
The reasons for considering overseas education remained largely career-focused, with 40% citing higher earning potential and 39% better job opportunities, followed by higher-quality content and knowledge, and stronger professional networks.
Ashwin Damera, co-founder and CEO of Emeritus, told The PIE News that students were reconsidering destinations, delaying plans or reassessing overseas study, with different patterns across life stages.
“They are citing rising visa uncertainties, geopolitical turbulence, and costs that are significantly impacting their choices,” he said.
For early-career respondents, he argued, the decision depended on timing and the expected return on their investment.
“They are already in the workforce and more likely to consider overseas study as a deliberate, planned future investment rather than an immediate choice.”
Conducted in March, the survey covered 1,010 Indians aged 15–28 across pre-college, undergraduate or postgraduate-transition, and early-career stages, capturing intentions rather than subsequent applications or enrolments.
Emeritus said respondents came from more than 50 cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Jaipur and Kochi, belonged to socioeconomic classifications A1, A2, A3 and B1, and were not recruited from its customers or learner base.
Alongside overseas interest, 68% of all respondents said they would be likely or extremely likely to pursue a program offered in India by an international university.
These (international university) campuses are not serving only students who were always going to stay, they are drawing in a broader audience than that
Ashwin Damera, Emeritus
Separately, 87% of pre-college respondents and 92% of the transitioning group expressed interest in studying in India within two years, figures Emeritus clarified referred to domestic study generally rather than specifically to international universities.
Respondents could consider both domestic and overseas options, while programs combining study in India with time abroad appealed to 39% of transitioning students and 27% of pre-college respondents.
For Emeritus, which supports several international universities’ India operations, including institutions from the UK and US, the findings point to a potential market beyond families already committed to domestic education.
In August, Damera described students at campuses the company supports as mostly people wanting to “study in India, live in India, work in India, build for India”, with undergraduate enrolments expected to dominate.
Asked whether the research changed that assessment, he said the campuses could serve both that group and students reconsidering overseas options.
“These campuses are not serving only students who were always going to stay, they are drawing in a broader audience than that,” he said.
Plans to return to India can also coexist with overseas study ambitions, with Oxford International’s separate mobility survey, reported by The PIE earlier this year, finding that 81% of surveyed study-abroad aspirants intended to return home after their courses.
The financial proposition also depends on which alternatives families are weighing, with international campuses offering savings against overseas study while charging substantial premiums within India.
Research by Rahul Choudaha, managing director of DrEducation Research, reported in August put average annual tuition at INR 13.3 lakh (approximately £10,500) for undergraduate programs and INR 17.2 lakh (approximately £13,600) for postgraduate programs across the campuses examined.
First-year undergraduate tuition at the India campuses averaged 115% more than at selected leading Indian private universities, but approximately 36% of the fees at their overseas parent campuses, before scholarships.
The comparison also excluded overseas living and travel costs, which Damera argued were central to how families assessed the India option.
“A student going abroad is not just paying tuition, they are paying for visa fees, travel, accommodation, and years of living costs in a foreign country,” he said.
He also highlighted merit- and need-based scholarships, arguing that universities were seeking to broaden access while maintaining their academic expectations.
Damera said Emeritus was working with the Maharashtra chief minister’s office and the University of Bristol to offer full scholarships to selected students from rural government schools in the state.
“They will not lower their standards, but they also understand that cost should not become a barrier to talent.”
The findings show interest in these programs, but do not establish what students would be willing or able to pay for them.
Confidence in the model also rests on what happens after graduation, with surveys covered by The PIE in May finding that more than 70% of employers prioritised workplace readiness over institutional reputation.
Among schools surveyed, 48% considered it too early to confidently recommend international branch campuses, highlighting the distance between awareness of a university’s name and confidence in its local provision.
Some employment evidence was already emerging: Deakin reported in March that around 50–60% of its GIFT City students had secured jobs, while others were completing internships and work-integrated learning.
For newer campuses, the record remains less developed, with Damera previously describing the initial recruitment cycle as “year zero” because late approvals had left institutions little time to recruit.
Damera pointed to corporate partnerships, campus locations near industry and career services as ways of preparing students for employment, while arguing that international education’s appeal extended beyond the qualification itself.
“Intellectual capital: who is teaching you and what is the quality of what you are being taught. Brand capital: when you walk into a room of recruiters, does the name behind your degree speak before you do. And social capital: the peer network you build alongside people who will go on to lead, build, and create,” he said.
