The Decision-Making Process in Access Paths to Master’s Degree Studies: The Case of International Students in Spain

Abstract

International student mobility is an important dimension of internationalisation in higher education, involving a high percentage of students in certain subject areas. A literature review revealed the absence of studies deepening our knowledge of this group of students in specific contexts and stages. Thus, this survey study was undertaken to gather data on the profiles and academic and professional careers of a sample of students. Specific differences in their intrinsic and extrinsic motives for their choice of degree subject were found. A total of 314 students from 14 Master’s degree programmes at two public universities responded, 42.4% of whom were international students. The data showed differences in reasons for choice between international and Spanish-native students when enroling in a Master’s degree programme. The foreign students had diverse motivations, in many cases related to each other, with no predominance of extrinsic or intrinsic motives. This suggests that, when students are deciding to study abroad, universities should consider the importance of offering guidance to these students at the stage prior to accessing the Master’s degree.

The Impact of International Student Mobility on Multicultural Competence and Career Development: The Case of Students from Latin America and the Caribbean in Barcelona

“…The students' narratives also present significant personal changes in relation to their maturity, reflection, and social commitment [3,29,41,68]. In some of these narratives, the experience is portrayed as having contributed to opening students' minds and to creating a stronger social commitment towards their respective countries [38,43].…”

“…Participants in this study come from a large pool of (national and international) students who completed an online questionnaire upon the completion of an MA at two different Catalan universities (for more information, see [68]). One year after the end of the MA, the international students were asked to voluntarily participate in an online interview with the objective of grasping a more robust understanding of their international experiences.…”