Curriculum Internationalization in Higher Education: Evolution, Fragmentation, and Emerging Critical Perspectives from a Systematic and Bibliometric Review

Curriculum internationalization has become a relevant field in higher education because it connects pedagogical design, intercultural learning, global competencies, and critical debates on knowledge production. However, the literature remains conceptually fragmented and unevenly represented across geopolitical contexts. This study conducted a systematic literature review combined with bibliometric analysis to examine the scientific configuration of research on curriculum internationalization. Following PRISMA guidelines, 160 publications indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus were analyzed using R packages, including bibliometrix, tidyverse, dplyr, and ggplot2. The analysis focused on scientific production, influential authors and works, collaboration networks, conceptual evolution, thematic organization, and emerging gaps. The findings reveal sustained growth in the field but also a strong concentration of citation-based influence among a limited group of authors and predominantly Anglophone countries. The literature has evolved from broad conceptual discussions toward more specific concerns related to competencies, internationalization at home, academic practice, and decolonial perspectives. Despite its expansion, the field shows persistent tensions between institutional discourse and pedagogical implementation. Future research should generate stronger empirical evidence on formative impact, incorporate non-Anglophone contexts, and articulate curriculum internationalization with epistemological diversity and educational transformation.