Exploring Challenges Faced by international Students in Computer Science Programs: Towards understanding the Student Perspective

International students are an important and desirable constituent in most computer science programs, bringing new perspectives into the classroom, diversifying the student population, globalizing the curriculum, broadening the perspective of domestic students, and often generating revenue for the host institution. Each of these characteristics is desirable and increasingly important in today’s highly connected world and job market. Most institutions invest resources in attracting international students and providing support and orientation sessions for them on arrival to help acclimate them to the new environment and to introduce them to other students. Student clubs often provide support groups and social functions to help them meet and make friends with domestic students. However, challenges for international students, and for the faculty teaching them, persist at many institutions despite these efforts to help international students deal with culture shock, differing academic expectations and teaching methods, and different attitudes toward issues such as academic honesty. In this paper, the authors examine the challenges faced by international students in integrating into computer science programs at various institutions, and explores these challenges and identifies differences in student and faculty perceptions. Asurveyofover200international students studying in four counties was conducted to gain insight into student perceptions of their educational experience.