The temporary shift from face-to-face instruction to online teaching at North American universities as an alternative solution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges to international students who had to study abroad from their home countries. Studies on how international students perceive their study-abroad-from-home experiences in such an emergency remote teaching (ERT) context remain scarce. Through the lens of Community of Inquiry and an additional perspective of emotional presence, this study explored 13 first-year international graduate students’ perceptions and experiences of their learning in ERT. Based on the analyses of the pre-learning questionnaire survey results and a series of three reflection journal entries, the study finds that teaching presence has played a vital role in shaping students’ understanding and experiences when they participated in a study-abroad graduate program from their home countries. In addition, the participants demonstrated mixed emotions of both frustration and appreciation/thankfulness as well as an isolation–connectedness emotional trajectory during their learning process. The study inspires an exploration of more diverse options for international education programs and continued effort in providing institutional support to ensure better learning experiences in a post-COVID community of inquiry.

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