Date of Degree
2025
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Nyunt, Gudrun
Committee Members
Mac, Jacqueline; Hutchings, Quortne
Keywords
international students, graduate student, first-year, adjustment, Schlossberg transition theory
Abstract
International students are integral to campus communities. Understanding the experiences that international students have as they adjust in their first year can benefit institutions in providing proper support. This study explored international graduate students’ narratives as they transition in their new environment and adjust to life at a mid-size, public institution in the Midwest in their first year. It also looked at the strategies that international graduate students utilize in their transition in their first year as well as how they perceive the support provided to them by the institution. Schlossberg’s Transition Theory guided this narrative inquiry study. Four themes emerged from this research: (1) the U.S. was it… there was no other choice… but getting there was not easy; (2) adjustment challenges; (3) navigating challenges and the importance of communities; and (4) institution support primarily from professors and departments. Implications both for future research and practice are offered as a result of the research.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Soto, Arezou K., "Another Kind of First Year Experience: A Narrative Inquiry of the Experiences of International Students' Transition in the First Year" (2025). Dissertations of Practice. 67.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/67
