About the Journal

The Journal of International Students (JIS) is a quarterly peer-reviewed publication on international education (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & Online ISSN 2166-3750). We aim to actively speak to the most consequential conversations in international education. 

The journal publishes research on international students in secondary and tertiary education institutions, as well as displaced, migrant, and other immigrant student populations, including refugees, DACA holders, temporary protected status, and undocumented minorities. We also publish research on international faculty, teaching assistants, and postdoctoral researchers.

We encourage submissions from researchers, educators, and policymakers from around the world in multidisciplinary academic fields, including international and comparative education, law, policy, economics, global studies, cultural studies, human geography, sociology, linguistics, cross-cultural psychology, counseling psychology, social work, and other related disciplines.

We prioritize submissions that mark a new and demonstratively significant advancement on under-researched aspects of the field, as well as regions, countries, contexts, or populations about which little is known. We prioritize scholarship that centers the perspectives of women, people of color, and communities from the Global South; multi-authored scholarship that spans socially constructed boundaries and borders; and scholarship that draws on under-utilized theories, methodologies, and frameworks.

We consider manuscripts that focus on the following areas of research related to international students, student mobility, education abroad, and international education:

  • Cross-cultural emotional wellness and psychological resilience
  • Decolonization, indigenization, and the politics of belonging
  • Employability, social mobility, and multinational careers
  • Ethical internationalization for greater inclusion and success
  • Immigration politics, policy, and human rights
  • Intersectional explorations of language, culture, and identity
  • New geographies of student, academic, and scientific mobility
  • STEM education, teacher education, and culturally relevant pedagogies
  • Sustainability, climate change, and ecological consciousness
  • Systemic reforms to advance racial justice and inclusion
  • Transnational identities, networks, and communities
  • Virtual mobility, virtual exchange, and online or remote learning

We consider Research Article submissions that use quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research designs with robust data collection and rigorous data analysis. We consider quantitative submissions with strong research designs and theoretical frameworks, including longitudinal, multilevel, path, network, and spatial data analyses. Descriptive research, program evaluations, literature reviews, survey research, institutional research, and/or research with small sample sizes are unlikely to be considered. We consider qualitative submissions that use critical, emerging, or more traditional genres of qualitative or post-qualitative research. Qualitative submissions must include conceptual frameworks grounded in theoretical and empirical literature, and authors are encouraged to reflect on researcher positionalities.

We also welcome short articles in the form of Research in Context, Cross-Border Narratives, and Book Review submissions.

Analytic submissions on critical issues and current trends of timely interest to the field may be submitted as to the Research in Context section. Submissions should catalyze discussion and debate by problematizing existing discourses, practices, or situations with an eye towards change. Visit the Research in Context section description and contact the Research in Context section editor prior to submission.

Analytical reflections on culture, language, people, and society may be submitted by faculty, students, and scholars to the Cross-Border Narratives section. Submissions should use narrative reflection to explore where experience is aligned with, extends, or problematizes extant theory and research.

Critiques of books and book length reports from international organizations may be submitted to the Book Review section. Visit review this list of book review titles and contact the Book Review section editor with your interest or to suggest a book for a proposed review.

Publish With Us

JIS is targeted at publishing the most influential research on international students in the world to a multidisciplinary audience:

  • High ranking: Rigorous peer review of your research in a top-ranked journal in international education and higher education.
  • World-wide representation: More than 300 scholars based in 45+ countries have submitted and published articles in the journal. More than half of our articles include authors from Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and South America.
  • 'Online first' publishing: We aim to provide initial decisions within 90 days from new manuscript submission and publish accepted manuscripts in 'Online First' format within 60 days after acceptance.
  • Global exposure: The combination of ranking, open-access, and indexing in all major academic databases increases the discoverability and citation of your work.