Structure and Meanings of International Students’ Personal Networks: Evidence from Germany and the US

Social networks are argued to be crucial for everyone, and international students are no exception. The increasing presence of international students at institutions of higher education, and in societies all over the world, calls for a closer examination of their multi-faceted lives through their local and transnational personal relationships. Previous studies on international student mobility/migration (ISM) argued that friendships are significant in identity formation, adaptation, academic success and satisfaction (Brown, 2009; Gareis, 2012; Hendrikson et al., 2011; Kashima and Loh, 2006; Kudo, 2003). While nationality/ethnicity argued to be a determining factor in friendship formation, recently geographical location of friends has also been considered as an important aspect (Bilecen, 2014). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to investigate international students’ personal networks in Europe and in the US from a comparative perspective focusing on their role on study abroad motivations and social protection.

Through using personal networks and qualitative interviews with Chinese, Indian, and Turkish students enrolled in elite universities in Germany and in the US, this paper performs a structural analysis of their interpersonal ties and illustrates similarities and differences of their networks based on gender, ethnicity, class, level of study, and the country of education. Moreover, it also demonstrates the meanings attached to such relationships. The results aim to contribute to both literature on personal relationships and ISM.