‘I just want to get work done.’: Experiences of International Postgraduate Taught Students in the UK

Educating international students is a commitment many UK universities make. During 2022/23, the academic year this study focuses on, international students made up 26% of the overall student population in the UK (HESA, 2024). At postgraduate level this number was even more significant, with 71% of postgraduate full-time students having had a permanent address outside of the UK (Ibid.). Income gained from international student fees is known to underpin the economic survival of the Higher Education sector, however, the sustainability and legitimacy of this practice has been called into question (Lomer et al., 2023; Merabet, 2024). The main objectives of this paper is to demonstrate the international student experience from the students’ perspectives. The overarching research question underpinning the study is: o How do international postgraduate taught students experience their studies at a research-intensive UK university? Moreover, this paper aims to shift the focus away from the individual’s ability to overcome challenges towards a more critical understanding of the dynamic and complex experience of transition, and which conceptualises this experience in relation to the environment in which it occurs. Apart from foregrounding the international student voice a second objective of this paper then is to make a modest conceptual contribution that may help researchers, professionals and other Higher Education practitioners grasp the typical features of the international postgraduate student experience in the UK.