Exploring International Graduate Students’ Experiences, Challenges, and Peer Relationships

Norway has experienced a substantial influx of students in the 21st century. The number of students with foreign citizenship has increased from just over 5,000 in 2000 to more than 23,000 in 2018, as seen in Figure 1 (DBH, 2020). This growth may seem like a paradox, given that Norway has few well-known higher education institutions, high living expenses, a language not widely understood, and a geographical location at the northern fringes of Europe.
 Figure 1: Number of Bachelor and Master Students in Norway with Foreign Citizenship 2000–2018
 So why do students choose Norway? A deliberate policy for internationalization of higher education developed is an important factor. From the 1980s, internationalization has increasingly become an integral part of national higher education policies as well as included as strategies of higher education institutions (Wiers-Jenssen & Sandersen, 2017). The main rationale for encouraging student mobility is educational; mobility is seen a tool for quality enhancement in higher education. However, economic, cultural,and political rationales are also present. The fact that the vast majority of higher education institutions are public partly explains why internationalization policies quite efficiently has trickled down from the national to the institutional level. 
 Most Norwegian higher education institutions do not charge tuition fees. This has gradually become a comparative advantage, as an increasing number of neighboring countries have introduced fees for students from outside Europe. Hence, there may be economic rationales for choosing Norway as a study destination, despite high costs of living. Students from developing countries may qualify for funding from the Norwegian government, while students from other countries have to cover all expenses themselves.
 Higher education institutions have economic incentives other than tuition fees for attracting international students. A reform in Norwegian higher education implemented in 2003 introduced a performance-based funding system (Frölich, 2006). Higher education institutions are rewarded for the number of credit points awarded, implying a stronger focus on attracting students in general. A significant increase in the number of courses and programs in English has facilitated recruitment of international students (Wiers-Jenssen, 2019). 
 International students cited courses in English and absence of tuition fees as the most frequently reported motives for studying in Norway (Diku, 2019a; Wiers-Jenssen, 2019). The latter is particularly important for students undertaking a full degree in Norway. Features of Norway, such as peaceful, safe, and technologically advanced society and unspoiled countryside are also accentuated. As these characteristics were present also before the number of international students started to grow, such motives must be understood in relation to conditions that have changed, such as availability of courses in English. Beautiful scenery and safety would have limited attractional value if courses in English were not offered.
 Quality is a less highlighted reason for choosing Norway as a study destination. But even if perceived quality is not a main attraction, international students in general give positive assessments of the quality of their education (Diku, 2019a). They cope quite well with academic demands, and their main challenges seem to be dealing with the high living expenses and limited interaction with Norwegians. The latter represents a challenge also for higher education institutions, as a major rationale for recruiting international students is to enhance “internationalization at home” (exposing Norwegian students and faculty to perspectives from abroad). If interaction is scarce, so is the exchange of ideas and perspectives.
 Foreign students in Norway consist of three groups (see Figure 2): (a) students who come to undertake a full postgraduate degree (international graduate students), corresponding to the definition of international students used in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2020) statistics; (b) students who come for a shorter study of 3 months or more (international exchange students); and (c)students who come for study sojourn of less than three months or who have come to Norway for other reasons, including (labor) migrants, refugees and more. In total, these three groups constituted 8.7% of total enrollments in Norwegian higher education institutions in 2018 (own calculation based on DBH).
 Figure 2: Bachelor and Master students in Norway with Foreign Citizenship, 2018: Number and Type of Students
 PhD students are not included in the figures mentioned above, and an exact numberof current doctoral students cannot be estimated. However, the number of foreign citizens completing a PhD was 657 in 2018, 42 per cent of all PhD graduates (Research Council of Norway, 2019). Hence, the proportion of foreign citizens is far higher at the doctorate level than at the bachelor and master level. This is in line with the situation in most European and North American countries (OECD, 2019).
 The largest universities (University of Oslo and Norwegian University of Science and Technology) attract the highest number of international students. These are also among the few Norwegian higher education institution found on international ranking lists. However, some small specialized higher education institutions such as the Academy of Fine Art, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, and the Norwegian Academy of Music have higher proportions of international students.
 The majority of international students originate from Europe and Asia (Diku, 2019b). China, Nepal, Sweden and Germany are currently the major sending countries of full degree students. Exchange students are mainly Europeans, and many of these come through the European Union student exchange program ERASMUS. European exchange students are often attracted by the “exoticness” of studying in the northern fringes of Europe. The majority of full degree students are enrolled in master programs, while exchange students are in bachelor programs. Science and technology is the most popular field of study, and clearly more popular among international students than Norwegian students (Diku, 2019b).
 More than half of the international students report being interested in living and working in Norway upon graduation (Diku, 2019a). However, updated statistics on the number that actually settle in Norway are currently not available. While obtaining a residence permit in Norway is quite straightforward for those who are originate from countries in the European Economic Area, students from other countries generally face more barriers. Some countries see recruitment of international students as an instrument for so-called skilled migration, but Norway does not have an explicit policy on this. On the contrary, government policies have encouraged students to leave upon graduation, in order to avoid poaching highly skilled individuals from countries that already experience high emigration. As a part of foreign aid policy, students from developing countries have received grants for studying in Norway, on condition that they return to their home country.
 The last couple of years, the number of international students in Norway has ceased to grow (cf. Figure 1). The reasons for this are not clear. It may be that a (temporary) point of saturation is reached. Still, the overall picture shows a remarkable growth in the last two decades. This illustrates that a small country with weak traditions for inward mobility may be able to attract international students if higher education institutions and national policies match well. Further, it shows that institutional policies can attract international students as much as economic policies.

The rising number of international students in higher education offers many benefits but presents challenges to students, including adapting to independent living, academic and social acculturation, and financial pressures. These challenges can affect students’ mental health, academic engagement, and overall well-being. Despite universities offering various support services, their utilization remains inconsistent. This study explored the perspectives of academics, students, and international marketing representatives on international student experiences in health programs at an Australian university via a qualitative, two-phase approach, including focus groups and a co-design process to identify solutions. The study moved beyond traditional academic and counseling perspectives by incorporating international marketing representatives as transition brokers alongside students, alumni, and academics. Three key themes emerged: student support services, learning and teaching experiences, and employability. Strengths within these themes included assignment support, peer mentoring, and career development, whereas challenges involved access to psychosocial support, accommodation, and financial aid. Concerns about program recognition internationally and flexibility were also noted. Strengthening international partnerships was identified as a solution to these concerns. The findings highlight the importance of comprehensive support services that address academic, health, personal well-being, and employability needs throughout the student lifecycle. Importantly, both students and staff must be aware of these services and how to access them.

There is a growing number of international graduate students coming to Japan. However, their resources and information regarding employment after their graduation are very limited. The purpose of this symposium is to a) discuss experiences of former international graduate students who currently work at academia and the situation of a current international graduate student who is in the process of finding employment and b) provide information and support to international graduate students who are concerned about their future employment.

Higher education institutions in the United States (U.S.) recruit international students as part of their internationalization strategies. The overall number of international students enrolled in American universities and colleges between 2017 and 2018 increased by 1.5% compared to the previous year, totaling over 1 million international students (Institute of International Education 2018). Of this total, 382,983 are international graduate students. International graduate students are good resources for the internationalization and economy of higher education institutions in the U.S. (Urban and Palmer, 2014) and, despite the reduction in the number of visas approved and job prospects, their numbers continue to grow (Almurideef 2016; Killick 2015). These students come from different countries, have different cultural backgrounds and needs, and face different challenges that student affairs professionals at host institutions must address to integrate them into campus (Harper and Hurtado, 2007; Lee and Rice 2007). Moreover, the needs and challenges of international students differ depending on their level of studies, undergraduate vs. graduate (Rai 2002). While student affairs professionals are often the first contacts for all international students, and they play a key role in the integration and development of international graduate students on campus (Brandenburg 2016), most higher education institutions and their student affairs units today are not yet prepared to serve international graduate students (Arokiasamy 2011; Burdzinski 2014; Castellanos et al., 2007; Di Maria 2012; Moswela and Mukhopadhyay 2011; Yakaboski and Perozzi 2018). The purpose of this study is to understand the perspectives of student affairs professional about their role in integrating international graduate students into campus and the policies, services, programs, and other elements they consider most helpful in integrating these students.

Commentary: COVID‐19 Pandemic and Higher Education: International Mobility and Students’ Social Protection

Although international graduate students make valuable contributions to American society, they often encounter significant difficulties. Further research is crucial to help universities better understand and accommodate international graduate students. We initiated a mixed-method participatory action research cycle, starting with a needs assessment that utilized social constructivist and culturally relevant teaching approaches. Our goal is to contribute to international higher education by examining the experiences of international graduate students at a Midwestern University, including their sense of belonging and the factors that promote their success. Our findings reveal that their challenges include language barriers, unfamiliar U.S. social norms, academic expectations, and legal obstacles; international graduate students benefit from a supportive university community with culturally aware professors and peers, which foster a sense of belonging.

Increasing numbers of students are travelling overseas to pursue higher education. The number has gone up from 0.8 million in 1975 to 4.3 million in 2011 (OECD, 2013). International students enrich the host country and university academically, culturally and economically. They enhance other students’ and staff’s experience by exposing them to diversity and multiculturalism (Burdett & Crossman, 2012; Peacock & Harrison, 2009; Rienties & Nolan, 2014; Zhou, Jindal-Snape, Topping, & Todman, 2008; Zhou, Todman, Topping, & Jindal-Snape, 2010). International students benefit themselves from studying abroad but can also face some issues as a result of their transition to a new country and educational system. There is a need to raise awareness amongst academics, researchers, professionals and policy makers of the positive effects of transitions to build upon them, and the negative effects to successfully resolve them. This book brings together expertise from around the world and is a comprehensive resource for different aspects of transitions experienced by international students and ways of understanding them; theoretical underpinnings, research, systemic enablers and barriers, and interventions to enhance transition experience. This chapter sets the scene for this book and other chapters. We will explore the concept of transitions and briefly outline some of the theories that can help us understand the multiple and multi-dimensional transitions of international students in higher education. These will be set in the context of current research and policy, followed by an outline of each section and chapter, and how they link to the Affective-Behaviour-Cognitive (ABC) theoretical framework (Ward, 2001; Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001; Zhou et al., 2008).

Research has shown that international graduate students of all engineering majors face various challenges (e.g., linguistic or cultural). Furthermore, female international graduate students are considered a "doubly marginalized" group due to their identity as international students and women. This study aims to determine the challenges experienced by female non-native English-speaking (NNES) international doctoral students in the engineering field and the impacts of these challenges. Existing studies have revealed NNES international doctoral students and female international graduate students’ challenges in the engineering field. However, there is a lack of knowledge about female NNES international doctoral students' challenges in the engineering field. This study seeks to address this gap. The data collection process involves interviews with eight female NNES international doctoral engineering students from a public land-grant research university. The study excludes first-year students to ensure participants have enough experience of the relevant issues. The major findings concern the different intersections of identities for female NNES international doctoral engineering students. As international doctoral students, participants face emotional, cultural, and immigration-related challenges when moving to another country. They additionally experience marginalization, insecurity, stereotyping, and inequality due to their identity as international students and women. Finally, they face significant linguistic challenges with speaking and writing due to their NNES. The results can assist U.S. higher institutions in finding ways to better help female NNES international doctoral students have more positive experiences and neutralize the gender gap in the engineering field.

Malaysia is committed to growing its research universities and its reputation as one of the world's largest educational service providers. Malaysia has sizable population of international students, and the country is recalibrating its strategy and planning to increase the number of international students to 200,000 by 2020. However, neither the Malaysian government nor the universities have created the synergy to increase the wellbeing of international students, their research progress and, most critically, academic supervision. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the direct effect of research supervision, that is, the supervisor’s encouragement, content knowledge, and availability, and campus environment and facilities on international students’ academic and career growth. This study proposes a model, called R-SEECKA (relationships, supervision, environment; encouragement; content knowledge and availability) for effective research supervision and practice in Malaysian public universities. The sample size consists of 450 international graduate students from different countries studying at six Malaysian public universities. It uses quantitative methods and SmartPLS for data analysis. Findings of this study reported the effect of encouragement, environment, relationship, availability and content knowledge on international graduate students’ academic and career growth. It is also reported that encouragement and motivation from the supervisor was the strongest predictor of academic and career growth, followed by campus environment/facilities. The paper offers recommendations and suggestions for future research to see how much research supervision has improved and international students have progressed in research in Malaysia. The authors note that the R-SEECKA model may be applied at universities in other countries and to other student populations to assess the impact of research supervision on their academic and career growth.

Over the last decade, North America has witnessed a tremendous growth in the enrollment of international students in higher education. Research shows that international students face various challenges and struggle to adjust in a new environment. They often experience stress, anxiety, loneliness, peer pressure, and financial issues, as well as, in some cases, forms of cultural, linguistic, and racial discrimination and inequities. This study explores the journey of an international student in North America while pursuing an undergraduate degree. Using autoethnography as a qualitative research method, I describe and systematically analyze my personal experiences as an international student. Through personal lived experiences and cultural differences, which intersect in ways that specifically speak to acculturative stress, oppression, language barriers, and academic challenges. These lived experiences and cultural differences intersect in ways that are often interconnected with social justice concerns. In conclusion, I call for providing more robust psychological, sociocultural, and academic support and services, which are crucial for international adjustment, stability and academic success. Additionally, I explain the importance of proper mentoring and peer support resources, which are necessary to navigate hurdles when transitioning into a new culture and academics, as well as in meeting everyday linguistic, social and practical challenges.

To the Editor: International students in U.S. medical schools face unique challenges. After enrolling in medical school, international students must strategically prepare for matching into residency programs that sponsor visas while engaging with meaningful extracurricular opportunities within the restrictions set forth by their student visas. As citizens of Nicaragua and Canada, respectively, who have encountered difficulties when finding answers to questions specific to our international status in undergraduate and postgraduate medical training, we suggest medical schools facilitate peer mentorship initiatives intended for international medical students. An important reason for this difficulty is the low number of enrolled international medical students in the United States. For example, of the 2020–2021 matriculating students to allopathic medical schools in the United States, only 131 out of 22,329 matriculants had a legal residence abroad. 1 In turn, medical schools may be relatively limited in providing nuanced, experience-based career guidance and support to their international students. Navigating the limited and different visa options for postgraduate training—in addition to identifying residency programs that even consider international applicants—can be challenging. This compounds the many challenges medical students face in general, including the uncertainty of matching to a residency program and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on each application cycle, setting up international medical students for a more complex journey in medical education than their U.S. peers. Given the few international U.S. medical graduates, and the limitations in career counseling for this population, there is a need for well-informed mentorship and guidance. Peer mentorship initiatives that connect international medical students with each other remain largely underused by medical schools. Although medical schools often offer peer mentorship programs in which more senior students provide academic advice and support to newer students, this approach is insufficient for international students who require guidance in the context of their specific situation. Instead, medical schools should proactively connect international medical students to each other across class years and, just as importantly, to their international alumni. Individuals who have navigated the many barriers present for international medical students in the United States are more likely to provide focused, experience-based support. Facilitating these relationships early in medical school may result in other benefits, including involvement with scholarship and research activities. Ultimately, international medical students in the United States have left their home countries and families to serve the U.S. people. Medical schools that admit international students should place value in using every possible tool to propel them to a successful career in medicine. Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the deans of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for supporting their medical training in the United States.

Attainment inequalities exist for ethnic minority students graduating from higher education institutes (HEIs) in the UK. Previous research has investigated the outcomes and experiences of students from ethnic minority backgrounds on health and social care programmes. However, studies exploring ethnic minority speech and language therapy (SLT) students' experiences have only focused on international students and were conducted in Australia. No known studies exploring the experiences of both home-domiciled and international SLT students from ethnic minority backgrounds have been conducted in the UK. To explore the experiences of home-domiciled and international ethnic minority students on a SLT training programme and to identify ways to improve these experiences. All SLT students attending a pre-registration postgraduate course who identified as being from an ethnic minority background were invited to participate. Two focus groups, one for three international students and one for six home students, were conducted. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were identified that illustrated students' current experiences and how experiences could be improved: (1) feeling an outsider, explores students' sense of belonging in SLT education; (2) finding ways to manage, describes the strategies used by students to cope with their experiences of marginalization, and how adopting these strategies impact on their well-being; and (3) promoting inclusion, explains how the training programme could be modified to improve the experience of ethnic minority students. A better understanding of the experiences of ethnic minority SLT students can help others to support them more effectively. The findings suggest that making changes to SLT training programmes could improve ethnic minority students' outcomes and experiences. These include: more training for staff and students, support groups for ethnic minority students, sharing lived experiences of students and experienced SLTs from ethnic minority backgrounds, and clearer ways of reporting racist incidents. International students would benefit from receiving more information on HEI support services and cultural practices in the UK. What is already known on this subject Previous studies have investigated the experiences of ethnic minority students on a range of HEI programmes, including those for students of physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The only studies investigating the experiences of ethnic minority SLT students are those exploring how international SLT students in Australia can be supported on professional placement. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study explores the experiences of home and international SLT students in the UK who identify as being from minority ethnic backgrounds. Findings suggest that these students feel like outsiders, affecting their sense of belonging. The need to find and implement strategies to manage their feelings of marginalization impacts on their well-being. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The findings suggest measures to promote the inclusion of ethnic minority SLT students to improve their experiences and support their well-being. These include more training for all staff and students and the creation of a 'lived experiences library' where students and experienced SLTs from ethnic minority backgrounds could share positive experiences as well as ways of dealing with challenges. Clearer ways of reporting racist incidents would be beneficial for all students. International students would benefit from receiving more information on HEI support services and cultural practices in the UK. It is important that ethnic minority SLT students are involved in developments that aim to improve their experiences.

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the adjustment problems encountered by international graduate students enrolled in American universities. Issues of interest included motives for attending graduate school, factors involved in facilitating and constraining the graduate school experience, personality traits that contribute to successful performance in a graduate program, and suggestions for future international graduate students. Semi-structured interviews of two international students were conducted with four major themes emerging. These were (a) student needs for a successful graduate program experience, (b) initial barriers to the graduate school experience, (c) consistent barriers to the graduate school experience, and (d) factors that facilitate a successful graduate school experience. These themes were further broken down into internal, external, and combined factors in an effort to better understand the graduate experience of international students. The importance of overcoming initial barriers, such as communication problems and culture shock; addressing consistent barriers to adaptation, such as becoming comfortable in a new learning environment and culture; and focusing on the development and enhancement of factors that facilitate adaptation, such as organizational skills, intrinsic motivation, social interaction, balancing time, and others are addressed. This article concludes with a series of recommendations to facilitate a better graduate school experience for international students.

The number of international students has grown at universities in the US. According to the Open Door Report (2020) published by the Institute of International Education, there were 1,075,496 international students in the US. In 2010, there were 723,277 international students in the US, According to the Open Door Report (2010). Many universities are looking to increase the numbers even more as a part of their internationalization efforts. US universities have been providing institutional support for international students' success. However, little effort has been made in improving the support of first-year international students. As the increased speed of international students in the US has slowed down because of the global students' recruiting competition, recruiting first-year international students' academic and social success becomes more important than ever before. This study is conducted based on the realization that there is a specific need for investigation on the institutional support for first-year international students. The study aimed to understand the actual experience of the first-year international students and how they describe the institutional support they received in their first year in the US. The study was guided by Russell and Petrie's model of academic adjustment and used Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) for engaging first-year international students. The guiding question of the study was; What do first-year international students at a mid-sized public university in the South say about the support they receive from their university during their first year? Findings concluded that: Institutions need to (A) build a platform that provides programs and learning opportunities to engage both first-year international students and first-year American students and integrate them into learning opportunities, (B) offer engaging opportunities for the campus community, and (C) provide robust institutional support for academic success. Also, findings show that (D) Providing the institutional support which suits every first-year international student is a challenge, and (E) institutions need to make an effort to study what first-year international students think about current institutional support. --Author's abstract

I examined the experiences of Chinese international students in higher education and inquire about American domestic students' perspectives on the trend of increasing numbers of Chinese international students in their institutions. In this paper, I also aim to provide suggestions on encouraging multiculturalism and inclusive academic settings within higher education.