International Students’ Motivations and Decisions to do a PhD in Canada: Proposing a Three-Layer Push-Pull Framework

Abstract

The study aims to explore which factors influence international students’ decision to pursue doctoral studies in Canada. Drawing on the push-pull model and the mechanism of educational decision making, this study uses semi-structured interviews to gather data and explores themes such as political and economic forces, institutional factors, social background and experience, and individual motivation in students’ decision making. Our study identifies multiple factors at the individual, institutional, and country levels that influence students’ decision making, including students’ past experiences, funding, faculty members, and immigration policies. Moreover, it finds that the factors vary by students’ regions of origin and disciplines of study. Our findings, focused on international doctoral students in Canada, add to the ongoing conversation about student mobility and add nuances on international students’ decision-making process in times of shifting landscape of higher education internationalization.

Navigating Chinese international graduate students’ experiences and mobility during US-China geopolitical tensions

“…The study underscores the exacerbation of these challenges through policies promulgated by the Presidential Administration, which have placed additional hurdles before Chinese international students seeking to enter or remain in the United States (Zhang et al, 2021). Notably, this heightened anti-immigrant sentiment and Sinophobia, despite historical antecedents, have intensified students' sense of alienation and apprehension about their future prospects (Hou, 2023;Johnson, 2018;Zhang et al, 2021). Chinese students have found themselves particularly targeted due to their nationality and academic program affiliations.…”

“…By contextualizing Chinese international students' narratives and stories within the geopolitical rhetoric, the study provides evidence of their inadvertent entanglement in racial formations, characterized by stereotypes, xenophobia, and Sinophobia. The study underscores the exacerbation of these challenges through policies promulgated by the Presidential Administration, which have placed additional hurdles before Chinese international students seeking to enter or remain in the United States (Zhang et al, 2021). Notably, this heightened anti-immigrant sentiment and Sinophobia, despite historical antecedents, have intensified students' sense of alienation and apprehension about their future prospects (Hou, 2023;Johnson, 2018;Zhang et al, 2021).…”

“…Importantly, the study unveils a novel dimension wherein political factors were not initially at the forefront of students’ considerations prior to embarking on their educational journey. However, it posits that these political factors may exert a more pronounced influence on their future mobility decisions, introducing a nuanced perspective into the existing discourse on the determinants of students’ country and university choices, especially within the milieu of evolving and uncertain circumstances (Zhang et al, 2021).…”

Choosing GIS graduate programs from afar: Chinese students' perspectives

“…For example, six factors, including the overall level of knowledge and awareness of the program and university, personal recommendations, cost issues, the environment, geographic proximity, and social links, were investigated by Mazzarol and Soutar (2002). Researchers have also examined multiple factors such as personal motives and aspirations, life experience enrichment, advancing career prospects, and ease of the process (Chen, 2007b(Chen, , 2016James-MacEachern & Yun, 2017;Li & Qi, 2019;Wilkins et al, 2012;Yang et al, 2018;Zhang, O'Shea, et al, 2021).…”

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“…Due to its proximity to the United States, much of Canada's pull factors are based on a comparison to its southern neighbor. Canada is seen as a country that is easier to emigrate to than the USA, and also has a healthier political climate (Zhang et al, 2021). Canada is also seen as a safer alternative to the USA while having the same perceived opportunities and options to learn English as the USA (Chen, 2017).…”