As higher education becomes increasingly international, educators, administrators, and education researchers are seeking ways to foster more inclusive environments for an increasingly diverse and mobile student body. Research over the past decade shows that LGBTQ + students have been chronically under-supported in international education (Oba & Pope, 2013). Recent attacks on LGBTQ + rights across the world have further threatened the social, political, and academic well-being of these already vulnerable students. As a response to these pressures, higher education researchers are increasingly giving attention to LGBTQIA + issues, including the complex and intersectional identities of university students, how campus programs include or exclude LGBTQIA + students, and how LGBTQIA + staff can serve as role models and support students (Lee, 2022; Nakamura et al., 2022). Research also shows that higher education in the Global North is reporting increasing attention—in theory and practice—to LGBTQIA + individuals (Pineda & Mishra, 2023). Yet additional awareness of LGBTQIA+ students is not the same as equal participation in higher education, accessing high-quality experiences, or seeing equitable outcomes.

One way to measure whether LGBTQIA + students are accessing and engaging in higher education is through equal participation in high impact activities (Kuh, 2008). High impact activities are ten educational practices that show positive effects for students (Kilgo et al., 2015). This paper primarily focuses on one of these high impact activities: study abroad, or pursuing education in another country. The benefits of international education are numerous and well-documented: intercultural and language learning, extended networks, and individual identity exploration and development. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, approximately 6.4 million students crossed borders for education (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2020).

Background to the study

Our focus is to examine how LGBTQIA + -identifying students experience international education; to capture relevant literature, we take the broadest definition of international education, including all students who pursue overseas education irrespective of their host or home countries. While there is no exact number of LGBTQIA + -identifying students in higher education, estimates range from 17% of undergraduates in the USA (American Association of Colleges and Universities [AAC&U], 2020) to 29% of the 2021 incoming class at Harvard (Koller & Yan, 2021). With this increase of individuals identifying as something other than heterosexual and heteronormative, awareness of this population is growing in international education literature and practice. Bryant and Soria (2015) found that LGBTQIA + students enrolled in US universities “may be more likely on average to participate in specific study or travel abroad experiences compared to their peers” (p. 100). Schoenberger (2019) claimed that during their time abroad, “each participant began to critically explore their sexual identity, a process that served as a catalyst for coming out” (p. 58). Moreover, Ecker et al. (2015) noted that Canadian universities’ queer student centers needed to customize and extend services for immigrant and international students who “may come from nations with anti-queer cultures” (p. 895), especially as domestic students receive more support in secondary education and become comfortable with their identities before starting higher education.

Despite increasing awareness of this subpopulation, many limitations and challenges exist when trying to conduct research on students’ experiences. Queer students may not self-identify or share their experiences for personal safety and sense of belonging. Furthermore, literature related to queer students is found across disciplines—including higher education, international education, mental health and counseling, LGBTQIA + and queer studies, sociology, linguistics, migration studies, and media studies—and many comprehensive studies of LGBTQIA + students have not explicitly included or separated out international student data. Moreover, scholars like Hamilton and Giles (2022) indicate that most study abroad students are not getting advice necessary for ensuring LGBTQIA + safety and accessing resources abroad.

To work towards increased access to, inclusion of, and care for LGBTQIA + students who pursue international education, our team reviewed literature over the past 10 years and synthesized the findings to point to significant challenges for students identifying as LGBTQIA + . We also emphasized increased understanding of LGBTQIA + students’ pathways, decisions, and unique considerations. Recommendations for future research and improved practices in higher education are included. The findings from this paper focus on students’ experiences and intend to inform higher education scholars and others who support LGBTQIA + university students who pursue international higher education.

Motivation and perspective

To conduct this literature review, our team was motivated by a familiarity with, and an appreciation of, LGBTQIA + higher education students who cross borders, believing their experiences and identities enrich universities and communities. We were also encouraged by the work of other scholars of higher and international education who have  critiqued higher education internationalization practices (see Stein, 2021), called attention to the complex and intersectional identities of international students (see Yao et al., 2019), and raise questions about semantics of diversity in higher education worldwide (see Pineda & Mishra, 2023). These scholars bring complexity to geopolitical forces within higher education and recognize that university campuses and students’ bodies are spaces of power, privilege, identity, and change. As Yao et al. (2019) argued:

International students can experience multiple points of privilege and oppression given their intersecting identities [and] at different points in time. Racialized experiences are complicated by a foreign status that can also evoke xenophobia and nativism from US peers and faculty. (p. 45)

Likewise, university students who participate in studies overseas also face privilege and oppression, especially those who are non-White, have disabilities, or identify as LGBTQIA + (Hamilton & Giles, 2022). These critical approaches provide an important counter narrative to many of the saccharine accounts of White students abroad or wealthy international students at English-speaking universities.

Moreover, our approach to the literature review was also informed and influenced by two related literatures—queer migration and student migration (or “migrant student”) literature—which were often cited in literature related to LGBTQIA + international students. These two bodies of literature emphasize the movement of people and how they form networks and pathways. Notably, many LGBTQIA + individuals move from rural to urban locations in search of community and safe environments (see Matsumunyane & Hlalele, 2022) before they begin overseas studies. In this literature, the focus is on the trajectory, with higher education being one stop on a longer journey.

Key terms

In this paper, we rely on two key terms throughout.

  • Queer: We use queer to encompass a variety of gender identities and sexual orientations that include lesbian, gay, transgender, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit. We recognize that each identity is distinct, can change over time and location, and manifests differently by context, and that a single term of queer is an oversimplification of a complex set of identities. However, in this paper, we subscribe to Sumara’s and Davis’s (1999) argument that queer people collectively are denied “the cultural rewards afforded those whose public performances of self are contained within that narrow band of behaviors considered proper to a heterosexual identity” (p. 192).

  • International student: For this paper, we define international student as anyone who crosses a national border to participate in higher education. We acknowledge that in higher education literature, it is common to separate “study abroad participant” and international students who often seek degrees in a second country. However, we have decided to use the term “international student” to mean a student from any country that is studying in another country. By combining study abroad and international student populations, we can provide a holistic review of phenomena that students report when participating in overseas education, irrespective of their home community, home institution, nationality, or citizenship.

Research questions

The research questions which guide this paper are as follows:

  1. 1.

    What does existing literature tell us about queer students’ motivations, identities, journeys, and unique considerations for international education?

  2. 2.

    How does current literature shape our understanding of queer students who participate in international education?

Method

To conduct this literature review, we followed the systematic review approach by Gough et al. (2017), focusing on selecting studies according to certain criteria and then presenting findings in the forms of tables and a narrative analysis. Our intention was to set criteria that included literature from across multiple disciplines to develop a comprehensive review. This differs from other targeted reviews of US LGBT + students in study abroad (Bingham et al., 2023) and international LGBQ students (Nguyen et al., 2017) which employed narrower search criteria.

To identify relevant literature, we used the following search terms: “international student,” “study abroad,” OR “student migrant” AND “queer,” “gay,” “lesbian,” OR “transgender” in the title, abstract, or keywords. This approach was used to find interdisciplinary literature which may use different terms yet focus on LGBTQIA + individuals in international education. To conduct this search, we used three databases: Google Scholar, the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and ProQuest. We only included the first 30 hits for each search; this threshold was determined as there was considerable overlap among the searches after about 20 items, which we interpreted as reaching saturation. We also read additional materials that one or more scholars cited, which provided us with important background on this topic.

From this search, we identified 96 pieces for deeper review. We then entered each piece into a Google Sheet and noted (1) how queer students were defined, (2) theories or theoretical frameworks used in the study, (3) students’ home country(ies) and host country(ies) in the study, (4) motivations for students to pursue international education, (5) issues for students while abroad, (6) issues for universities in working with this population, and (7) issues for home or host communities. We also mapped where areas of conflict and comfort were reported by queer international students.

After this, we applied the following criteria to determine which literature would be included in the study. The criteria and their rationale are as follows:

  • Peer-reviewed literature published as a scholarly article, book chapter, or doctoral dissertation. The rationale is that this literature is assumed to be designed well, approved through ethics review, and reviewed by peers or committee members.

  • Publication date of 2012 to 2022 and available online. The rationale is that these findings are most likely to represent current students’ experiences.

  • English language publication. Given the complexity of terminology related to LGBTQIA + issues and various colloquialisms across languages and cultures, selecting only English-language publications kept the dataset manageable.

From the Google Sheet, we also selected any articles whose sample populations were fully composed of international LGBTQIA + students. For example, one study by Donahue and Wise (2021) focused on queer students in international service-learning university programs, without using the terms “international student,” “study abroad,” or “student migrant.” We ended with the 30 pieces included in this study. Most of the excluded literature focused on queer university students without a component of overseas academic mobility.

To create the findings below, we read through the material by column, and in some cases returned to the original source to verify our understanding. Findings provided below are a narrative analysis of the main points by category, with a brief interpretation included. The discussion section provides a synthesis across the categories. All 30 pieces and key characteristics are included in Table 1 below.

Challenges and limitations of this methodology

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the topic and absence of a unified lexicon, the scope of our literature search was quite broad and did not include colloquial terms. We also limited our definition of international education and did not include all aspects, especially those where individuals did not cross international borders (e.g., online exchanges). In an attempt to mitigate misunderstandings of meaning across disciplines and to improve coherence among our ideas, our team kept a collective journal while reading literature and met regularly to discuss the findings and our interpretations.

Furthermore, as our research was limited to English-only texts, we recognize that this not only excludes research on this topic but also perpetuates linguistic and regional inequities commonplace in academic research. The majority of the literature in this review came from scholars based at institutions in the USA—where English is the predominant academic language and is the top host country for international students (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2020).

Moreover, most of the studies related to queer international students are qualitative and have small sample sizes. On the one hand, these studies resulted in rich narrative accounts, detailing identity development, experiences, and journeys. However, this also meant that some studies were anchored on one person’s trajectory, leaving readers curious about other students’ experiences.

Our positionality

This paper is part of a larger research project looking at the identities, experiences, and trajectories of queer international students. To acknowledge our privileged researcher identities, our team co-authored a positionality statement as we started reviewing the literature. We began by recognizing our privilege as three cisgender, able-bodied, and straight-passing women. All of us are US-born native English speakers with a higher education background and have benefited from our citizenship, education, and cultural capital, both at home and abroad. One of us identifies as queer and the other two are LGBTQIA + -adjacent allies. We have the privilege of passing safely in heteronormative society. Two of us are White women, and one of us is a light-skinned Black woman, and we recognize the inherent power in whiteness. Together, we have many students and peers, close friends, and loved ones who identify as queer and who have been international students. We consider ourselves allies, yet we have each grappled with the question of whether we are the “right” ones to be doing this research. To this work, we bring a commitment to social justice, rely on honesty and transparency, and use our power and privilege as researchers to center and respect LGBTQIA + and international student communities.

Findings

Application of the selection criteria resulted in a collection of 30 pieces, with 18 scholarly articles, seven doctoral dissertations, and one book chapter. The literature spans disciplines including higher education, international education, mental health and counseling, LGBTQIA + and queer studies, sociology, linguistics, migration studies, and media studies. Table 1 outlines the key characteristics of each study, including details of mobility, university study, and research purpose.

Table 1 Items in the literature review
Full size table

Each section below explores these topics, in relation to answering the research questions: how queer internationals students are defined in the literature, the theoretical perspectives enlisted to explore this topic, students’ motivations to pursue international education regarding their queer identities, their engagement and challenges in higher education, and how their identities are further defined during international education.

Defining the queer international student in research

Overall, there is some variance of how queer international students are defined in the literature: Some scholars use the umbrella term of queer to include both sexual orientations and sexual identities, yet others focused only on sexual orientation (e.g., LGB +) or a single sexual orientation (e.g., gay). Notably, within the 30 documents, there was considerable variance in terms preferred, with studies containing larger populations including multiple gender and sexual identities. Subpopulations within the queer community were infrequently examined; for example, only two studies focused exclusively on lesbian students (Brown, 2016; Zheng, 2022) and only one focused singularly on transgender students (Nguyen & Yang, 2015). The term “queer” was used to define an individual or a community in 23 of 30 sources (as opposed to the use of Queer Theory), signifying that the term is familiar and commonly used across disciplines.

Most scholars use the term “students”—instead of collegians or participants—which includes undergraduate and graduate students, degree and non-degree students, and those who are enrolled in short-term programs abroad to learn languages or take a single class (see Table 1). It is worth noting that the length of overseas study, as well as the level of study, is not always mentioned in the literature. Moreover, most scholars highlighted the intersectionality of students’ identities, beyond the overlay of “international” and “queer,” to include race, nationality, language, or religious attributes. For example, Hubain’s (2017) dissertation focused on four Black gay international students and how these individuals experienced their US institution and host community through their racial and sexual identities.

Theoretical perspectives used

Most commonly, queer and intersectionality theories were selected to explore the experiences of queer international students in higher education, with queer theory applied in seven papers and intersectionality theory in ten papers. Specifically, these theories were selected for studies related to campus resources and institutional support for queer international students (see Herridge et al., 2019), the likelihood of participating in education abroad programs and experiences in these programs (see Bryant & Soria, 2015), and how queer international students navigate their classroom experiences (see Nguyen & Yang, 2015). Through these theories queer international students are positioned as individuals often marginalized by cisheteronormative and other dominant systems operating in higher education.

Scholars also used identity development theories and models to understand the ways international education influences queer international students’ identity development. These approaches typically looked at how a queer international student perceives changes in their identity over space and time. Through this framing of queer international students, scholars like Quach et al. (2013) and Evans (2017) called attention to students’ identity development both within and outside of the higher education context. We explore this topic in detail below.

Other theories have been employed, including social relation theory, which looks at the complexities of interpersonal relationships and their intrapersonal impacts (Lértora et al., 2021), and postcolonial theories, which examine legacies of colonialism and imperialism and their impacts on individuals and their lands (Bhattar, 2019; Lee, 2015). In comparison, Yu’s (2021) study on queer Malaysian international students in Taiwan pulled primarily from mobilities theories, which track the influences of individuals’ queer and international identities on their migration experiences and trajectories; it also used Sinophone as theory in their exploration of the experiences, everyday practices, and future aspirations. As this subfield of research is interdisciplinary and emerging, there is ample space to expand and refine the theoretical approaches.

Motivations for international education

In the literature review, queer students stated that they pursued international education for many of the reasons commonly cited in the literature and noted by the AAC&U in their list of high impact practices (Kuh, 2008): development of skills, learning at high-quality universities, economic mobility, improving language and intercultural skills, and growing international networks. Yet, the literature reviewed highlights additional motivations, calling attention to factors that underscore individuals’ queer identities and environmental factors. These are presented below as push factors (those which push one to leave their current residence) and pull factors (those which attract individuals to a new place).

The factors that push queer students to leave their current location include a sense of being stuck at home and unable to develop or move towards their true identity (see Schoenberger, 2019). In addition to not being able to fully explore their sexual identities at home, students from some countries also faced daily threats, physical and emotional abuse, and sexual violence, causing them to flee (Evans, 2017; Michl et al., 2019). Moreover, students sought to distance themselves from the social pressure of heteronormativity and to avoid bringing shame to their families (Herridge et al., 2019). This was especially true for students from collectivist cultures. For example, Nguyen et al. (2017) noted that Asian LGBQ students expressed a “heightened concern for their parents’ position within the community and how disclosing their sexual identity will impact the family’s membership within that cultural group” (p. 88).

On the other hand, there are multiple unique factors that pull queer students to study in a new country. Several studies mentioned the openness and welcoming of multicultural and gay-friendly communities and progressive human rights policies (Lo et al., 2022; Wang, 2022). It is in these communities that queer international students believe they can “find themselves,” live freely, and feel safe (Nguyen et al., 2017). In one example, Nguyen and Yang (2015) noted that Han, a transgender student from South Korea, “revealed that the main reason for her coming to the US was to try to become a successful transgender professional, something she considered impossible in her home country” (p. 225). The pull to pursue one’s identity and live peacefully were major factors to pursue and migrate for international education. However, it should be emphasized that queer students are often attracted to international education for multiple reasons, not primarily because of their sexual or gender identities.

Identity formation as central in international education experiences

Many scholars focused on identity development as a main unit of analysis in their studies, presenting findings unveiling how queer international students experience the interplay of external and internal factors and relate to a new environment abroad. Donahue and Wise (2021) found that US queer students actively managed and navigated their identities while abroad, highlighting how students learned about their own identities, host cultures, and cross-cultural communication in relation to their queer identities. The main factors that lead to identity formation of queer international students are presented below in terms of relationships and factors at the micro level (individual beliefs, family, relationships), meso level (university setting, social groups, legal system), and the macro level (political climate, national identity, language, geography).

Scholars noted that queer international student identity development at the micro level develops in accordance with an individual’s values and beliefs, which may fluctuate as they migrate through time and space. This is especially the case in relation to living in one’s host country and returning to one’s home country. During queer international students’ time abroad, belief systems rooted in their home culture and family values are challenged (Quach et al., 2013). At the same time, being in a new environment opens possibilities for students to see themselves in new ways (Schoenberger, 2019). This can serve as a “catalyst” for queer identity development, especially if the new space is more inclusive and accepting of queer identities (Bryant & Soria, 2015).

However, although many queer international students fleeing from anti-LGBTQIA + home cultures arrive in their host institutions eager to explore and express their identities (Evans, 2017; Yu, 2021), some queer students remain closeted while abroad or feel uncomfortable sharing their identities with other international students (Herridge et al., 2022). This is especially true for those who fear that their families might learn of their sexual orientation or identity, or that they would experience retaliation from their home community (Herridge et al., 2019), potentially leading them to not engage with LGBT campus resources or local immigrant communities (Nakamura et al., 2022). Moreover, Zheng (2022) examined the strategies used by queer Chinese students to safeguard their identities from their families on social media. This is echoed by other scholars who underscore the importance of family, stating, “The fact that Chinese international students and their families are in different geographical locations does not inhibit the influence that their family and culture has on their sexual identity development” (Quach et al., 2013, p. 265).

Moreover, some students choose to hide their queer identities upon returning home (Oba & Pope, 2013), while others—by no choice of their own—find their identities “erased” (Duran & Thach, 2018, p. 42). After graduation, students may choose to remain abroad to live openly (Evans, 2017); still, others return home as LGBTQ + rights activists (Yu, 2021). Despite students’ exact trajectories, most studies provided evidence that students reported isolation, helplessness, or fear as part of their identity development. However, Lo et al. (2022) found that this may not be universally true. In their study on gifted LGBTQ + international students who had reached self-acceptance, they noted personal attributes that helped to build resilience, including one’s ability to engage in metacognition, access to LGBTQ + -affirming information in English, and pragmatism in using LGBTQ + identity labels.

At the meso level, queer international student identity development depends on interaction with university campus life and related communities, such as friends (Evans, 2017), student clubs (Duran & Thach, 2018), religious communities (Adeyemo, 2019), and family and relatives at home (Wang, 2022). Overall, students’ identities were mostly shown to be sources of conflict for many of the communities they interacted with (Dos Santos, 2022; Duran & Thach, 2018; Michl et al., 2019; Oba & Pope, 2013). Thus, scholars regularly emphasized the importance of visible and accessible services—such as mental health and wellness services—and other signals of LGBTQIA + support by both the university and host community.

At the macro level, political climate and national policies around LGBTQIA + rights specifically—and human rights, broadly—influence queer international students’ perceptions of their own identities and the extent to which these identities can be freely expressed (Nakamura et al., 2022; Tarasi, 2016). In one study, Lee (2015) found that visa and immigration laws in their home countries stifled queer identity development, stating, “I have lost track of the number of queer and trans migrants who have told me that they felt as if the immigration and/or refugee process felt like a prison or was literally and figuratively killing them” (p. 127). Many find countries in the West more open and welcoming, regarding international education as a pathway to these environments.

Individual identity development is a complicated undertaking with many variables, and scholars acknowledged that queer international students have multiple identities beyond their queer and international ones. They also pointed out that more work needs to be done in this area. For example, Bhattar (2019) noted that their subjects thought being Indian and queer was “an anomaly” and “like I’m some kind of rarity” (p. 125). A similar point raised by Herridge et al. (2019) is that queer international students reported that their queer identities were submerged by their international student identities, feeling that they were simply seen as an “international student” while overseas and further erasing parts of their identities.

Experiences in international education

Host institutions and higher education programming are important environments that shape queer international students’ experiences abroad. Literature showed that not only do communities, academic and otherwise, influence identity formation (Oba & Pope, 2013; Yu, 2021), but that different facets of queer international students’ intersectional identities are also emphasized or de-emphasized depending on their external environment (see Mnouer, 2020). For queer international students, a sense of community—on campus, in classrooms, with peers, or with host families—has a meaningful influence on their overall well-being as a queer student in a new country (see Donahue & Wise, 2021; Herridge, et al., 2022). Moreover, several scholars highlighted how community membership can serve as both sources of comfort and belonging and of conflict, which are explored below.

In terms of comfort and belonging, queer international students have reported positive experiences through their on-campus engagement (Michl et al., 2019; Tan & Wang, 2018). These positive experiences were often a result of contact with university staff, especially openly queer staff (Lértora et al., 2021; Michl et al., 2019) who serve both as role models and sources of information and support. Other policies that provide positive experiences for queer international students are resources related to students’ queer identities and clubs, organizations, and associations for LGBTQIA + and international students (see Lértora et al., 2021; Michl et al., 2019).

However, not all university experiences are welcoming and queer international students also reported cases of conflict in higher education settings. Regarding negative experiences at universities, students have cited university staff, clubs, resources and services, and classmates as sources of stress and conflict (Dos Santos, 2022; Duran & Thach, 2018). Factors that contributed to queer international students’ negative university experiences included climates enforcing cisheteronormativity (Brown, 2016; Dos Santos, 2022) and discrimination from staff and classmates based on students’ intersecting queer and cultural, racial, and international identities (Dos Santos, 2022; Lértora et al., 2021). Furthermore, in some cases, university resources, especially mental health and counseling services, failed to accommodate students’ queer identities, international identities, or both (Duran & Thach, 2018; Hamilton & Giles, 2022; Herridge et al., 2022; Tan & Wang, 2018). Scholars (Hamilton & Giles, 2022; Michl et al., 2019) also noted that there has been a holistic void of resources for queer students traveling abroad, especially as they navigate multiple environments beyond the university campus, such as host families, internship organizations, or service-learning sites (Donahue & Wise, 2021).

Despite these challenges and universities’ tendencies to uphold cisheteronormative or xenophobic structures and policies, the potential for universities to accommodate and support queer international students exists. For example, Nguyen et al. (2017) called attention to how individuals in positions of power craft the on-campus and programmatic culture and help combat racism and heterosexism.

Discussion

This systematic review of literature is about queer students who participate in international higher education, either in short-term study abroad programs or as degree-seeking international students. As noted above, the literature is interdisciplinary, ranging from higher education to media studies to linguistics. While some scholars focus on a specific gender identity, most lump together—as is mimicked in this paper—sexual and gender identity into the umbrella term of queer. Many of the identities are also intersectional, highlighting ethnicity, nationality, or other factors. Moreover, we show that there are multiple theoretical frameworks used to study queer international students, with queer theories, identity development theories, and migration theories most used. We also presented the findings in terms of geographies, communities, motivations, and identities, arguing that within each of these categories, queer international students had additional motivations, considerations, concerns, and cautions to account for because of their queer identities.

With an ethos of care and respect, we put forward learning from this systematic literature review to isolate and amplify the considerations heeded by queer international students. Overwhelmingly, the research points to the struggles—in feeling included on overseas campuses, in finding community, and in receiving appropriate mental health and other support—for queer students who pursue international education. Some findings are so significant that they may modify our understanding of international students or of LGBTQIA + students in higher education. For a queer-identifying individual, international higher education can mean both an invitation to explore and be their true selves, and a cautionary and arduous journey to find needed support, navigate personal safety measures, and seek welcoming communities.

Specifically, the literature carves out a composite of students who view—and sometimes actively seek—international higher education as a mechanism to develop themselves, express their identities, and live in more welcoming and safe communities. At the same time, queer international students are often viewed singularly as international students by higher education systems, with their intersectional sexual orientations and identities going unrecognized. This implies that faculty, staff, and students often engage with these students—across campuses and programs, from English-language classrooms to international student events—with only one set of expectations in mind. As scholars note, this emphasis on “internationalness” can lead to unintentionally erasing queer identities. Likewise, higher education scholars and practitioners often do not designate—or perhaps exclude—international students in studies and programming for LGBTQIA + students. As a result, queer international students may not feel like they belong with either international students or LGBTQIA + student communities and risk being double-marginalized in higher education.

Distinct considerations for queer international students

The literature highlights the complexity of geographies and experiences for LGBTQIA + international students, yet points to a unique set of considerations for this group. It is worth emphasizing that many of these considerations are similar to most students who pursue international education: seeking access to high-quality education unavailable at home, gaining new skills and perspectives, economic mobility, and bringing new knowledge home to help their home societies. In addition to these motivations, the literature underscores how queer students share many of the same concerns, challenges, and issues as all international students. However, there are still some considerations unique for this population, which align with three stages of the student journey: as the queer international student is preparing for international education, during their overseas education, and after they complete their studies—which includes the idea of returning home.

For queer students, going abroad introduces some unique considerations. First, queer students are looking for welcoming, multicultural, and LGBTQIA + -friendly communities in places with progressive human rights policies (Wang, 2022; Yu, 2021) and open internship placements and host families (Donahue & Wise, 2021). The cultures and values within these communities may have greater significance for queer students than for other international students. This is because it is in these communities where queer international students believe they can “find themselves,” live freely, and feel safe (Nguyen et al., 2017). This is related to queer students’ claims that they are also fleeing persecution or violence at home or feeling unable to develop towards their true identities (Evans, 2017). The pull to pursue one’s identity and live peacefully was a major factor to pursue and migrate for international education.

Moreover, while pursuing overseas education, queer students develop and refine their identities and form new relationships, both on campus and in host communities. Wang (2022) noted how these new environments can be more welcoming and inclusive than those at home. Yu (2021) highlighted how gay students may find peers and local gay communities for support. Moreover, Schoenberger (2019) wrote that their study “revealed the importance of a safe space where one can free themselves of all past barriers and rediscover oneself. For the participants of this study, that space was a study abroad program” (p. 39). Moreover, Nguyen and Yang (2015) underscored how education in the USA is synonymous with learning English and becoming a gay cosmopolitan.

However, numerous considerations and challenges also weighed on students engaged in international education. Queer individuals had to navigate being out to host country friends while keeping parts of their identities secret from their families (Duran & Thach, 2018), which included managing family expectations (Quach et al., 2013) and engaging in code switching behaviors to avoid additional scrutiny (Bhattar, 2019; Hubain, 2017). Students also reported only coming out to other students from their countries or other international students, but not host country students, which “entailed some specific contradictions” in both classroom engagements and social settings (Brown, 2016, p. 818). Additionally, Herridge et al. (2019) noted that “a concern shared among respondents was the need to avoid engaging in any activities in the United States that could out them and lead to individuals in their home country learning about their sexual orientation due to being required to return to their home country upon graduation” (p. 57). Queer students also reported multilayered discrimination and facing a double barrier (Nguyen et al., 2017; Zheng, 2022), as well as sexual discrimination (Michl et al., 2019) and microaggressions, hostilities, and isolation while abroad (Herridge et al., 2019; Michl et al., 2019; Yue, 2012).

Scholars also spoke of queer students seeking additional mental health support overseas (Lértora et al., 2021). Yet, Oba and Pope (2013) and Herridge et al. (2022) highlighted challenges in seeking mental health support, including significant stigma for some students about accessing services, how many counselors may be untrained to counsel international students, and cultural norms of seeking trusted friends for support over professional counseling. As Tan and Wang (2018) reported, queer international students may feel like they are “minorities within minority communities,” and that,

Most LGBT international students who I know, have chosen not to disclose their sexual or gender identities to their heterosexual and cisgender friends. They choose to remain in stealth because they are afraid of the possible discrimination and stigma that they might face. Until the university is competent in providing support for LGBT international students, it is likely that the visibility of these students will continue to be low. (p. 3)

Moreover, queer students also reported facing unwelcoming communities, perceiving stigma and bias on public transit and in off-campus housing (Yue, 2012) or in religious communities (Adeyemo, 2019).

Once their educational experiences overseas come to an end, queer students face additional considerations for their return. Tarasi (2016) cites Greenblatt’s suggestion that queer international students face a “triple dilemma” of having to navigate a foreign academic system, a cisheteronormative world, and then return to a potentially oppositional culture at home. Other scholars (Hubain, 2017; Mnouer, 2020) point out the journey for queer individuals has additional considerations as their home country context may expect them to act very differently than they did while studying overseas. While this can mean going back into the closet or ending relationships, Mnouer (2020) notes that for some, it spurs advocacy and activism, causing employment changes or better support for future queer international students. Others point out that LGBTQIA + students from less-welcoming societies may remain in the host country—perhaps seeking asylum—or emigrate to a third country (Lee, 2015).

These considerations may be especially important for higher education institutions when recognizing the unique additional pressures that queer international students face when they come to universities, while they are studying, and as they return home.

Conclusion and directions for future research

In conclusion, it is worth emphasizing that context matters greatly in understanding the trajectories, experiences, and identities of queer students—and must be considered to understand the unique interplay between identity, place, and time in one’s international higher education experiences. There are opportunities to execute well-designed qualitative studies, especially taking into account additional theoretical perspectives, like transgender theory, students’ intersectional identities, and home country cultures. In addition, more could be done to investigate the experiences—especially the positive ones—of queer students and disaggregatelarge-scale data sets by international student population. Given this review of literature, we propose following topics for additional study in higher education research:

A model for queer international student identity development

While many of the scholars in this review pull from an identity development framework, most choose a sexual identity or student identity development framework. A holistic model is missing. A new model that incorporates more than one approach, and which includes mobility, could advance scholarship on queer international student experiences and lead to improved practice.

Queer identities as a barrier to pursuing international education

Extant literature provides little information about those who decided to not pursue overseas study due to fear of identity-related violence, retaliation, or exclusion. Future studies in this area could build on Kirkegaard and Nat-George’s (2016) work on violence and student mobility, allowing greater insight on support needed to increase queer students in international education.

Comprehensive review of policies and programs that include and support queer students in international education

As highlighted in this paper, queer international students have numerous considerations and challenges to navigate, and universities are adjusting and adapting to provide support. In addition to the strategies mentioned in this literature review, additional attention can be given to specific policies and how university leaders, staff, and faculty provide examples for students, stemming from new findings about UK university staff (Lee, 2022). Moreover, online spaces and digital communities could be examined to get a better sense of student identity development, community, and support.

Anxieties related to graduation and the return home

While there is some attention in the literature to the motivations of queer students to pursue overseas education, there is very little regarding preparing for graduation. Returning to one’s home country is often a conditionality—either legal, formal, or social obligation—of a scholarship, visa, or funder (Campbell, 2018). For queer students, this may mean they are returning to a less-welcoming environment or will be legally or socially excluded if they are identified as queer. Additional research could explore the risks, support needed, and routes followed by queer individuals as they are preparing to graduate—including the option to seek asylum, such as noted in the work by Lee (2015)—especially for those who are obligated to return to repressive communities.

Positive narratives of queer international students

Finally, the subfield could benefit from additional qualitative research countering and balancing the cautionary and worrisome tone in the literature, which frequently focuses on safety, need for mental health support, and emergency management (one counterexample is Hipple et al., 2020). The preponderance of struggle may both cloud those experiences that bring comfort and belonging to students, as well as discourage future queer-identifying students from pursuing international higher education.

In conclusion, we highlight that understanding the trajectories, experiences, and identities of queer students who participate in international education is still in its nascent stages. Challenges are abundant in this area of research, as queer international students are by no means homogeneous: Their identities are shaped by their multiple cultures, backgrounds, and ethnic groups and they study at different host universities or as part of programs, which can vary widely in location and culture. As universities foster more inclusive environments for a diverse and increasingly mobile student body—and LGBTQIA + rights continue to be challenged globally—additional attention and understanding to queer international students’ motivations, experiences, and pathways are necessary.