DLPS Faculty Publications

Abstract

In 2003, there were 586,523 international students in U.S. institutions. International students make up 13 percent of U.S. graduate students, and account for one-fifth of all doctorates. Some students remain in the U.S., while others return to their home countries. Either way, however, international students represent a very significant portion of the U.S. higher education field. Yet the literature on international graduate students is surprisingly sparse. While there are many studies of the international graduate student experience, they tend to focus mostly on language acquisition, academics, acculturation and social adaptation. There are few well-constructed theoretical, qualitative, or quantitative studies dealing with the processes of academic choice, mentoring, graduate school socialization, or outcomes. There are also very few studies about the career trajectories of international graduate students. Most of the well-constructed works take the form of doctoral dissertations; the journal literature has almost nothing on these topics. This literature review is intended to help fill this gap by directing readers to relevant resources. Some of the studies that are reviewed include: • Cross-national student migration and the process of choosing a school. • International student acculturation and adaptation, including friendships between international and domestic students. • Stress and mental health issues related to acculturation and cognitive dissonance. • Differences in library use between international and domestic students. This section also includes a discussion of teaching techniques that should be used when providing information literacy instruction to international students. • Educational socialization and the interaction between social processes and education. • Career trajectories of international students, including the decision to stay in the U.S. or return to the home country. • The post-departure career trajectories of international students who return to their countries. • An exploration of the career trajectories of foreign-born faculty members who stay in the U.S.

Disciplines

Educational Sociology | Education Policy | Higher Education Administration | International and Comparative Education

Download
COinS