Aims
The International Student Ratio (ISR) indicator looks at the ratio of international students to overall students.
If an institution is attracting a sizeable population of international students this has benefits in terms of networking, cultural exchanges, a more diverse learning experience, and alumni diversity.
In addition if an institution is attracting a sizeable number of overseas students it suggests that it has a positive reputation and is viewed as a good place to study.
This can be reinforced if graduates return to their home country with a positive experience to relay to future prospective students.
Relevant Rankings
International Student Ratio is an indicator used in the following rankings:
It forms part of the Global Engagement lens.
Methodology
Below you can find the weighting(s) for the indicator. Weightings are reviewed on an annual basis.
Ranking Project | Weighting |
QS World University Rankings | 5% |
QS Arab Region Rankings | 2.5% |
QS Asia Region Rankings | 2.5% |
Data Sources
The data for this indicator is drawn from two main sources:
- Institution data - Submitted by institutions as part of the research process
- Data from third-party sources - Including government ministries, agencies such as the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and web sources
Where possible our data is checked against multiple sources to verify its authenticity.
Calculations
Using the overall undergraduate and postgraduate student numbers and the number of international students, we calculate what proportion of the overall student body is international.
International students are defined as foreign nationals who spend at least three months studding at the institution.
Definitions
International
- The term ‘international’ is determined by citizenship.
- For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states.
- In Hong Kong SAR, this includes staff from China (Mainland).
- In the case of dual citizenship, the deciding criteria should be citizenship obtained through birth, or first passport obtained.
- Offshore exchange students and distance learning students are excluded.