Challenges That International Doctoral Students Confront: A Meta-Synthesis Study

• In Event: Issues of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in the Recruitment, Retention, and Curriculum Within Graduate Education

Abstract

International doctoral students make up a considerable percentage of the population in the US and some other English-speaking countries. The studies pertaining to the challenges those students confront have been disseminated at conferences and in journals. Therefore, there is a need to summarize the research that has been conducted recently in this area in order to advance contemporary theories pertaining to international doctoral students. This study used meta-synthesis as the method and Tinto's model on college students' integration was applied as a framework. This paper discusses the eleven themes that were yielded and organized in accordance with frequency. The relationship between theory and the literature findings are discussed and a new tentative framework is proposed based on the results.

Author

• Yan Gao, University of Victoria