a qualitative analysis of the experiences of international students in an overseas short-term stem program

The increase in globalization over the last decade has introduced more competition across all industries, including higher education. worldwide, colleges and universities are becoming more competitive, creating a need for schools to develop high-quality programming to attract students. to recruit and enroll more talented international students, many colleges and universities in the u.s. have developed short-term study abroad programs to introduce students to life in graduate school and market their graduate programs. this study aims to explore the experiences of international students enrolled in these short-term programs to determine students’ perceptions and broader implications of these programs. to do so, i interviewed 15 international students who participated in an overseas short-term stem program. results highlight the importance of students’ experiences related to sampling american education and culture, establishing faculty connections, communication-related challenges and opportunities, skill acquisition and development, and graduate school decision-making and admissions processes.