Academic and Cultural Interactions with Mentors/Advisors: International Graduate Students in U.S. STEM Programs

• In Event: Advancing Higher Education: International Perspectives

Abstract

This quantitative study aimed to understand the association between peer and faculty interactions and mentor/advisor academic and cultural relationships among international graduate students (IGS) in STEM programs in the U.S. We used primary survey data from a National Science Foundation grant that included nearly 1,000 students across 12 research institutions in the U.S. Drawing from the concepts of capital (e.g., social, navigational) and based on regression findings, we found that support from peers and faculty played a positive and statistical role in reports from IGS about their satisfaction with cultural and academic relationships with mentors/advisors. Our regression models also contained a wide range of demographic, background, and program variables that were largely not predictive of statistical differences in these relationships.

Authors

• Scott M Myers, Montana State University

• Carrie B. Myers, Montana State University