Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission represents an original work that has not been published elsewhere nor submitted to another journal for publication;
  • The submission meets word length requirements for the manuscript type, which is all-inclusive of article text, references, tables, and figures;
  • The submission indicates that the Institutional Review Board (IRB) human subjects approval was secured, or explains why it was not required;
  • The submission includes a definition of 'international student' and cites current data on international student mobility;
  • The submission cites current theoretical and empirically-based literature, including relevant articles published in the Journal of International Students;
  • The submission reports sample size, population, confidence interval, and effect size, if applicable;
  • The submission is written in language that is engaging, lively, and direct, using active voice whenever possible;
  • The submission includes four to seven keywords;
  • The submission includes a name, email, affiliation, and a brief bio statement for each author in the Title Page (with Author Details) in the format outlined in the Author Guidelines;
  • The submission includes a Cover Letter that clearly articulates why the manuscript marks a new and demonstratively significant advancement in research and aligns with key elements of journal's Aim & Scope;
  • The submission includes both Manuscript (with Author Details) and Manuscript (without Author Details) as two separate files;
  • The submission includes no more than four tables and/or figures in total included within the manuscript;
  • The submission adheres to APA 7 stylistic and bibliographic requirements; and
  • All identifying information has been removed from all documents and file names.

Author Guidelines

Submissions should be prepared according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th Edition, including title page (without author names), abstract, keywords, in-text citations, pagination, headings, tables, figures, and reference list. Article text, references, tables, and figures are included in the word count. View a short overview of notable changes from APA 6 to APA 7.

Authors are encouraged to carefully review the journal's Aims & Scope and submit work that marks a new and demonstratively significant advancement to the field. Authors are encouraged to review the criteria used to evaluate manuscripts in our double-anonymous peer-review process.

Authors are strongly encouraged to review this Peer Reviewing Guide developed to highlight key considerations for reviewing research with and about international students. 

The following information will guide authors as they make a submission in the online system. You may begin your submission and return to edit it anytime until you decide to finalize the submission by clicking on the Finish Submission button. You may wish to review the visual, step-by-step guide on Submitting an Article.

The journal screens papers for unoriginal material. By submitting your paper you are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-review and production processes.

JIS is an open-access journal. There are no fees to individual authors, and authors are allowed to self-archive their work. Read our full Statement on Open Access >

All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.

JIS aims to return reviewed manuscripts to authors within 90 days of initial submission, although some manuscripts take more or less time in order for us to provide high-quality, thoughtful, constructive reviews that are a hallmark of our journal.

Start Submission

Section. Select the Manuscript Type of the submission:

  • Research Article
  • Research in Brief
  • Study Abroad Reflections
  • Book Reviews

Categories

Select the relevant Region(s) for your paper:

  • Central and South Asia
  • East Asia, Europe
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Middle East and North Africa
  • North America
  • Oceania
  • Sub-Saharan Africa

Select the relevant topic area(s) addressed in your paper: 

  • Cross-Cultural Wellness and Psychological Resilience
  • Decolonization, Indigenization, and the Politics of Belonging
  • Immigration Politics, Policy, and Human Rights
  • Sustainability, Climate Change, and Ecological Consciousness
  • Transnational Lives, Employment, and Careers
  • Virtual Mobility, Virtual Exchange, and Online Learning

Submission Requirements. Verify compliance with the Submission Preparation Checklist.

Comments for the Editor. Enter any additional comments for the Editor (optional).  You will upload a Cover Letter to the Editors (.doc, .docx, or .rtf) on the next screen.

Copyright. Agree to the journal's copyright license.

Upload Submission

To ensure an anonymous review, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other. This involves the authors checking to take the following steps with regard to the text and the file properties: author identification has been removed from Microsoft Office documents and authors have deleted their names from the text, with "Author" and year used in the references and footnotes, instead of the authors' name, article title, etc.

Cover Letter to Editors. Upload a Cover Letter to the Editors (.doc, .docx, or .rtf). The letter should clearly articulate why the manuscript marks a new and demonstratively significant advancement in research on international students and specifically address the alignment of the submission with the key elements of journal's Aim & Scope. 

Manuscript (without Author Details). Upload a manuscript without author details as one document (.doc, .docx, or .rtf) that includes a title page (without author names), abstract, main article text with a maximum of 4 tables and figures, and reference list. Documents must be double-spaced with 1-inch margins and use 12-point Times New Roman font. Remove author(s) names, affiliation, country, and bio information, as well as all identifying information from the Microsoft Office document. 

Embed tables and figures in the manuscript, if applicable.  Figures should be in JPG or PNG format (300 dpi resolution). Authors should limit the total number of tables and/or figures to a maximum of four (4) and refer to APA recommendations for table and figure use. All reproduced images (including tables) should be accompanied by an APA Style copyright permission statement and have a reference list entry. 

Authors should follow APA 7 guidelines in the select selection of quotation content in length in qualitative research articles. Footnotes, endnotes, and appendices are not allowed.

Manuscript (with Author Details). Upload a manuscript with author details, including a title page (with author names and affiliations), abstract, manuscript with tables and figures placed in-text, and reference list.

Title Page (with Author Details). Upload a title page with the name, email, and affiliation of each author. The document should include all author bios on the last page with a brief biographical statement for each author with each author's department, highest education level, and research interests. Please follow the format of the example: FIRST AND LAST NAME, PhD, is a Position Title in the Department at Institution in Country. Her major research interests lie in the area of academic literacies, academic integrity, higher education research, and multiculturalism. Email: xxxx@xxx.xxx Authors may include Twitter @usernames in their bio statements, if applicable.

Enter Metadata

Title and Abstract. Enter a title and 100-150 word abstract.

List of Contributors. Enter author(s) information in the online form, including name, email, country, ORCID iD (optional), institution/affiliation, and a short bio statement that describes the author(s) department, rank, and research interests. Indicate which author will be the principal contact for editorial correspondence.

Keywords. Provide four to seven keywords for the submission. Authors are encouraged to include one or more Subject Terms from the ERIC Thesaurus.  

Funding data. Add funder name and identification and grant numbers, if applicable. 

Confirmation

Click the “Finish Submission” button. Authors will receive an email confirmation with a Submission Acknowledgement message and link to track the submission during the review process.

Pre-Submission Language Editing for Scholarly Manuscripts

The use of language editing services prior to submission may be valuable for some authors. If authors wish to hire a professional editor prior to submission, the journal has an arrangement with Taryn Aldrich, a member of the ACES Society for Editing who specializes in language editing for scholarly manuscripts. Authors may email their pre-submission manuscript to Taryn at taryn@tarynaldrich.com and mention their plans to submit to the Journal of International Students for a discount on editing services. The use of pre-submission language editing services is optional, and the journal follows a double-anonymous peer-review process. 

Manuscript Types

Research Articles

Research Articles (4,500-7,500 words) submissions use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods research to make a new and demonstratively significant advancement in under-researched aspects of the field related to topics outlined in the journal's Aims & Scope.

Research in Context

Research in Context (2,000 words maximum) submissions focus on critical issues and current trends of timely interest to the field. They are intended to catalyze discussion and debate by problematizing existing discourses, practices, or situations with an eye towards change. Submissions in this category should provide readers with opportunities for critical reflection or considerations for re-imagining practices and/or research with international students. Authors are strongly encourged to review the detailed Research in Context section description prior to making a submission.

Cross-Border Narratives

Cross Border Narrative (1,000-2,500 words) submissions are analytical reflections on culture, language, people, and society. They may be submitted by faculty, students, and scholars. Submissions should use narrative reflection to explore where experience is aligned with, extends, or problematizes extant theory and research. Authors are strongly encourged to review the detailed Cross-Border Narratives section description prior to making a submission.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews (750-1,200 words) include critiques of books and book length reports from international organizations. Include a JPG (600 dpi) of a cover image of the reviewed item. Review a list of selected book titles then contact our Book Review Editor to express interest in reviewing one of the book titles listed or to suggest other books for a proposed review. Book reviews must be submitted via email to the Book Review Editor.

Special Issue | Intersectional Identities

Authors must have abstracts which have been already previously approved by Guest Editors (Charles Mathies and Katie Koo) in order to make a submission to this special issue.

Special Issue | Virtual Exchange

Authors must have abstracts which have been already previously approved by Guest Editors (Taylor Woodman and Melissa Whatley) in order to make a submission to this special issue.

Copyright Notice

All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.