In July 2024, I had the opportunity to attend the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) Teaching and Learning Seminar. The three-day, activities-packed seminar opened me up to seeing innovative ideas about teaching philosophy as a potential faculty. Among the many things that stood out for me at this event was the number of international graduate philosophy students from various universities in the U.S. and Canada. I couldn’t help but notice that of the eighteen participants in the seminar, a significant number of us were international students from Canada, Brazil, Singapore, South Korea, and Nigeria. This made me curious about the statistics of international philosophy graduate students in the U.S. and whether it has increased over time. I learned from the 2022 Council of Graduate Studies (CGS) survey that first-time international graduate enrollment increased by 10.2% across all fields of study except engineering from 2021 to 2022. Daniela Veliz also observed that the proportion of international graduate students in the USA has steadily increased from 17% in 1985 to 29% in 2015, with the increase affecting all fields of study, including philosophy. In this blog post, therefore, I will be using the term “international students” to refer specifically to international philosophy graduate students.
While it is good news that many philosophy departments in the U.S. are enrolling more international students in their graduate programs, some are struggling with how best to provide comprehensive support for these students. It is no news that international students face significant challenges in adjusting to their new academic environment. For instance, many international students struggle with getting integrated into the U.S. cultural and educational system. Since international students come from different educational and cultural backgrounds and since many speak different languages, they often feel stress, anxiety, or shock while adjusting to their new institutional, educational, and cultural realities. These negatively affect their mental health, work productivity, and sometimes cause feelings of isolation. While many philosophy departments acknowledge these challenges and have initiated support measures such as conducting departmental climate surveys and establishing Minorities and Philosophy groups, there is still room for improvement. Based on personal reflection and conversations with fellow international students at the AAPT seminar, I have identified and propose some additional concrete steps that philosophy departments in the U.S. can take to enhance their support for international students.
- Acknowledge and Celebrate the Achievements of your International Students.
International students experience various challenges ranging from language barriers, financial stressors, and social and cultural challenges. Yet, one of the overlooked challenges that they face is the pressure to succeed academically. International students often feel extra pressure to succeed in their new environments, perhaps due to imposter syndrome, that is, feelings of self-doubt about their intellectual abilities and accomplishments. To overcome these feelings of self-doubt, some may put themselves under extra pressure to prove to themselves that they can succeed even in unfamiliar terrain. Some may also feel extra pressure to succeed due to their feelings of obligation to family and friends who have high expectations of them. They may not want to disappoint their parents and families, who have sponsored their high school and undergraduate education, and who may still be responsible for some of their graduate education expenses, such as housing and health insurance.
While it can be argued that domestic students also experience this pressure, the extent or intensity at which international students bear these burdens differs. For instance, domestic students do not necessarily have to deal with language barriers. Language barriers can cause difficulty in adapting to a new academic environment. International students whose first language is not English may struggle with lectures, completing assignments, and participating in class discussions. This could aggravate feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy, further reinforcing the pressure to succeed. Additionally, the stress that comes with relocation and separation from one’s family is more intense for international students. Domestic students have the advantage of a closer familial network as they are closer to their homes. However, international students may be deprived of emotional support from their families due to distance, differences in time zones, and the high cost of international calls and plane tickets! The pressure to succeed can then be used as a coping mechanism for dealing with loneliness.
When international students put in the extra effort to achieve some success, whether in research, teaching, and community involvement or receive awards for their work and/or impact, their departments can further encourage them by acknowledging and celebrating these achievements. In one of my conversations with fellow international students at the AAPT seminar, I shared from personal experience how good it can feel when department members attend my events or congratulate me for my achievements, and likewise how disappointing it can be when they don’t. Other international students agreed that they think so, too.
My point is that international students could feel that they are not being seen if their efforts and achievements are not being acknowledged or celebrated. Philosophy departments in the U.S. can, therefore, provide better support for their international students by acknowledging and celebrating their achievements. They can do this through verbal acknowledgment. As an international student, I know I would be thrilled to have faculty members and fellow graduate students verbally congratulate me for an achievement. While in-person verbal acknowledgment may not work for everyone, another strategy may be to send personal acknowledgment or congratulatory emails. These emails can be sent by the head of the department or the graduate director. Of course, this strategy can be cast as a suggestion for both domestic and international students in general, but I think this validation may mean more to international students as it could significantly boost their sense of belonging in their new environment.
In addition to verbal or email acknowledgment, philosophy departments in the U.S. can also celebrate their international students by highlighting their achievements in departmental newsletters and social media pages. This strategy has already been adopted by some philosophy departments in the U.S. For example, the philosophy department at the University of Cincinnati has employed a graduate student worker to help manage the department’s newsletter and social media account, part of which includes highlighting the achievements of (international) students and faculty. This strategy could be adopted by philosophy departments that have yet to do so. Also, departments that have adopted this strategy can reevaluate the kinds of achievements they celebrate. Instead of celebrating only grand achievements like graduation, fellowship awards, and job placements, they can lower their threshold to include “not-so-grand achievements” like conference presentations, TED Talks, community engagements, podcasts, and blog articles, among others. By acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of international students either through emails, verbal acknowledgments, newsletters, and social media, philosophy departments in the U.S. can validate the hard work of international students and further inspire them to strive for academic excellence.
- Integrate Curricular Practical Training (CPT) in the Philosophy Graduate Curriculum.
Another important strategy is to integrate Curricular Practical Training (CPT) into the graduate curriculum. CPT is an alternative work/study or internship program that allows international students to work with off-campus employers and seek practical experience that is integral to their research work or area of study. Generally, per the United States Immigration and Custom Service (USCIS) regulation, international students on F1 visas cannot work more than 20 hours on campus while school is in session. During holidays, however, they may work on-campus for 40 hours. This regulation implies that international students can work only on campus and for a certain number of hours. With this regulation, international students who are not fully funded by their program or who do not receive funding during the summer are constrained to find competitive on-campus jobs during the holidays. Few students eventually secure these jobs, and most are not financially sustainable. This constraint, therefore, adds more weight to the financial burden of international students. Yet, this constraint can be minimized, if not removed, if international students are able to apply for CPT as part of their graduate curriculum. This program will afford them the opportunity to seek employment outside the campus and also get practical experience that is relevant to their research work. Some departments in the sciences and engineering already have this program as part of their curriculum, perhaps due to the practical nature of these disciplines. However, this program can also be adopted by philosophy graduate programs that have not.
An objection that could be raised to this idea is that philosophy is generally a theoretical discipline, and so the idea of practical training is not applicable. While it is true that philosophy is mostly a theoretical discipline, there are practical branches of philosophy that philosophy graduate students are interested in. Students interested in practical or applied philosophy can gain significant experience by having practical training in the form of internships. For instance, an international student interested in environmental ethics may find it useful to take an internship at an environmental protection agency. A student interested in bioethics or public health ethics could take up an internship at a non-profit organization. Students interested in the philosophy of science could take up internships at relevant research institutions. This would not only provide practical experience and novel perspectives that may prove useful for their research, but also, it would provide them an avenue to work and get paid. This is a better alternative to searching for on-campus jobs that mostly do not contribute to the academic development of international students.
Another objection that could be raised is the responsibility of departments in securing these off-campus positions for their international students, that is, would departments be responsible for securing off-campus employment/internships for their international students? I do not think so. While philosophy departments or even universities could make recommendations, international students who are interested in CPT must bear the responsibility of searching for and securing off-campus positions for themselves. Philosophy departments should only be responsible for integrating CPT into their graduate curriculum. This would allow international students the opportunity to search and secure paid off-campus positions for themselves, an opportunity that is unavailable to them now because of the visa restrictions but available to domestic students.
In addition to paid internships, another example of off-campus positions that can be accessed by international students during the summer is adjunct teaching at other institutions. International students who are passionate about teaching may opt to take up teaching positions at other institutions in addition to their responsibilities within their departments. This would allow them to get more teaching experience while ensuring that they get compensation for their work. An objection to this idea is that adjunct work might derail students from putting the necessary hours into their coursework, dissertation, or main teaching assistantship (TA) duties. Also, it could delay their time of graduation. An appropriate response would be that philosophy departments should ensure that students only make use of this opportunity during the holidays, specifically, the summer when they have fewer or no coursework and fewer TA duties. Also, departments should specify the number of hours that students are able to adjunct during the holidays. This would ensure a balance between time management, departmental responsibilities, and practical experience. Philosophy departments who have yet to adopt this strategy and would like to may get in touch with their international offices to seek more information and guidance on integrating CPT into their graduate curriculum.
- Have Regular Communication with your International Students about their Challenges and Needs.
As mentioned earlier, international students experience anxiety, homesickness, financial distress, and stress about fitting in in their new academic environment. However, these social challenges can be alleviated by having a supportive academic environment. Effective support can be provided when there is specific communication between philosophy departments and their international students about their challenges, needs, and the means of supporting them. This form of communication would help philosophy departments to listen and understand the struggles of their international students, brainstorm on possible means of alleviating these struggles, and decide on the best strategies to provide support.
This form of communication also needs to be regular because these struggles are subject to change, and so support strategies may need to be adjusted as international students acquaint themselves with their new environment. For instance, an international student may have the challenge of securing accommodation and settling down in their first year. With the form of communication I am advocating, the department could learn about this challenge and provide some amount of money to offset some housing expenses. However, this support may not be necessary for second-year or third-year international students. The support strategy may have to change from financial assistance to academic mentoring or networking opportunities. The point here is that the needs of international students may change as they progress in their studies. Nonetheless, philosophy departments can only be aware of this change and act accordingly if there is specific communication about the challenges and needs of their international students. This form of communication can be achieved by having regular informal talk sessions (e.g., tea sessions) with international students. Surveys and suggestion boxes may also be adopted to gather information on the needs of international students and identify the best strategies that can provide effective support.
Philosophy departments in the U.S. have a significant role to play in providing effective support for their international students. However, they can fulfill this role by implementing strategies such as acknowledging the achievements of international students, integrating Curricular Practical Training in the graduate curriculum, and maintaining regular communication with international students about their challenges and needs. With these strategies, philosophy departments can create inclusive and supportive academic environments, ensure academic development, and enhance the academic experience of their international students.
Damilola Victoria Oduola
Damilola Victoria Oduola is a PhD student in philosophy and a Presidential Fellow at University of Cincinnati. She is passionate about interdisciplinary research, focusing on bioethics, public health ethics, and health policy. Last summer, she had a volunteer internship with a non-profit organization which greatly enhanced her research skills. She aims to bring the practical experience gained from this internship into her interdisciplinary research in ethics and health policy and bridge the gap between theory and practice.
