Illuminating the Marginalization of International Students in the United States and the Ways Forward

Abstract

In this chapter, the researchers showcased the story of an international student to critically illustrate issues impacting international students in higher education within the U.S. and to offer ways forward to create more equitable and inclusive universities for these students. Such critical examination of these students' experiences is important because their enrollment in higher education has expanded considerably in the past decades. Support of these students may be a valuable investment in the future infrastructure of the U.S. and the world. However, they may experience a variety of challenges navigating university systems imbued with structures that have historically created and continue to perpetuate systemic marginalization of students based on ethnicity, racialized identity, and religious beliefs, among other social identities. Here, the autoethnography of an international Ph.D. student upon her arrival into the U.S. towards her graduation was collaboratively and critically examined and explored. Then, ways to deal with those issues at the college level were suggested.