Learning, Living and Working: Expectations and realities for international postgraduate students at a Scottish university

Abstract

International students have, for many years, sought higher education in the United Kingdom and other major English speaking destinations. Recently a combination of government initiatives, development of the higher education sector and the changes in funding of higher education in the UK have encouraged universities to give greater focus to attracting overseas students. This paper presents findings of a year long research project designed to analyse the learning, living and working expectations and experiences of international postgraduate students studying at a Scottish university. It was found that learning expectations and realities were generally consistent whereas many students experienced living issues that they had not anticipated and that learning issues impacted on the propensity of students to find part-time employment.