| Institutions of higher education in the United States enroll the largest number of international students in the world each year (Bain & Cummings, 2005). In 2014-2015, the United States hosted 974,926 international students from around the globe (Open Doors, 2016). The number of students attending college in the United States from Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 19 percent from 2013-2014, making it the fastest growing region for sending international students (Open Doors, 2015). This phenomenological research study explored the perceptions and lived experiences of Afro-Caribbean international female graduate students attending Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) in the southeastern U.S. The experiences of Afro-Caribbean international female students have often been homogenized in the literature as generalizable among international students or African American students. The study was guided by three research questions. The data was collected from, in-depth interviews with eight Afro-Caribbean international female graduate students attending PWIs throughout the southeastern U.S. The findings indicate that Afro-Caribbean international female graduate students navigate multiple academic and campus-based challenges associated with race, gender and international status while attending PWIs in southeastern U.S. Keywords: Afro-Caribbean, international students, phenomenology. |
