The International Students' Experience Project at UAL: Issues of Engagement for International Students in Art and Design

A case study commissioned by the HEA Subject Centre for Art Design and Media.

This study reports on a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) funded project that explores some issues of engagement for international students. The aim of this project was to conduct an in-depth investigation of the experiences of first-year undergraduate international students at University of the Arts London (UAL) through interviewing them in their own first language. Issues emerging include some particularly relevant to art and design education such as the privileging of ambiguity group work and explorations of personal identity. The article suggests some strategies including Holliday’s ‘small culture approach’ (Holliday 1999).