International students’ decision-making and learning experience in construction management coursework master’s degree

Abstract

Coursework master’s degree programs are rapidly growing and there are growing cohorts of international students in these programs globally. This study focuses on international students enrolled in three construction management related coursework master’s degree programs in an Australian university. The research aims: (i) to examine factors influencing the students’ decision in pursuing their coursework master’s degree; and (ii) to explore the challenges they have encountered while abroad. Data was collected using an anonymous online structured survey questionnaire. The results show that the detected heterogeneity in the respondents’ responses is dependent on the respondents’ country-of-origin to a greater extent than their gender. The key factors affecting their decision-making are global reputation and university ranking, and career advancement opportunities; and the key challenges are lack of access to student housing or accommodation and limited job opportunities for international students. The findings reinforce the importance of providing employability and career advancement support and academic and social support services in tertiary institutes’ strategic international student marketing, recruitment and retention agendas.