Surviving the International Experience: Exploring the Mental Health of Graduate International Students

Abstract

This qualitative research examines graduate international students’ experiences, in particular, their mental health during their acculturation process to McMaster University. This study specifically investigates the challenges graduate international students encounter while pursuing their studies, how these challenges impact their mental health, and the strategies they develop to manage these challenges. Drawing from the findings, policy recommendations are provided for relevant school stakeholders, and implications for theorists to consider as they relate to international students’ mental health in their particular social identity are presented as well. This research study is organized under a critical framework. Critical theory (CT) is mainly used to do data analysis and to generate knowledge about graduate international students’ mental health as well as reveal the hidden structures of their experience. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six graduate international students from different departments, countries, ages, and genders, to examine a variety of interpretations of the graduate international student experience at McMaster. Key themes, including challenges encountered as international students, conceptualizing mental health, and factors affecting their mental health struggles, are also discussed.