With more college students preparing to pursue global careers after graduation, the number of American students studying abroad reached an all-time high in the 2006–07 school year, according to a report by the Institute of International Education. New York University had more students studying abroad than any university in the country.

The top five study abroad destination choices for American students — Britain, Italy, Spain, France, and Australia — did not budge from previous years, but more students are choosing to spend time in the Middle East, China, and Latin America, where learning the language could be helpful to their careers, according to the report.

“Parents and their children are beginning to realize their careers will be global,” the chief operating officer at the Institute of International Education, Peggy Blumenthal, said. “Students who want to be competitive when they graduate need to have some international experience.”

The number of undergraduate students in America spending time during their college careers abroad increased by 8.5%, to 223,534, across the country. In New York State, the number of students studying overseas during college increased by 16.5%, to 18,563, last year.

At NYU in the 2006–07 school year, 2,809 students studied abroad out of a junior class of about 4,850 students. The president of NYU, John Sexton, said in a statement that he expected that half of NYU students would make study abroad a part of their college experience within the next few years as the school boosts its international profile.

NYU, an institution whose identity is closely linked to the city, currently has eight study abroad sites in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The school is also developing sites in Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires, and some departments are considering making study abroad a requirement for students in their major. “Anyone who graduates in the 21st century will have some part of their job be international,” Ms. Blumenthal said.