Earlier this year, we launched the international student survey to ask hard-hitting questions about the barriers to your student experience. This is what we have learned.
Earlier this year, we launched the international student survey to ask hard-hitting questions about the barriers to your student experience. This is what we have learned.
The project
In 2024, the Students’ Union launched a survey to learn more about the international student experience at Royal Holloway. International students told us that they felt welcomed and included within the University and had made friends on their course. Moreover, we found that their student experience had been negatively affected by the cost-of-living crisis. The results from the previous survey informed the questions of this year’s survey.
This year, we delved deeper and asked more detailed questions about the specific areas of the international student experience at Royal Holloway. We wanted to know about students’ arrival experiences and culture shock. We asked about academic support and English-language requirements. Survey respondents discussed their sense of belonging, feelings of loneliness and encounters with discrimination on campus. Finally, respondents told us how they engaged with student groups, academic communities, and student leadership opportunities. The results of this survey have been broken down into a series of infographics below.
What we have learned
A total of 177 students participated in this year’s survey, an increase of 123 students from the previous survey. The infographics below present the demographic information of the international students that took part in the 2025 survey.
We identified the key issues in students’ search for private housing and experiences of culture shock. Additionally, we asked how satisfied the participants were with the support and guidance provided by Royal Holloway at this time.
Academic experiences were outlined in questions about pre-sessional English courses, academic barriers and the degree of support students had received from staff in their department.
We expanded upon the previous survey’s questions on inclusion by asking about students’ sense of belonging and opportunities to form friendships at Royal Holloway.
Experiences of discrimination and prejudice were an important issue we wanted to know more about.
We wanted to learn more about how international students engage with the International Student Inclusion Community, Student Leadership opportunities and SU Student Groups.
Finally, international students told us the degree to which their student experience had met the expectations they had at the start of their studies, and whether they would recommend studying at Royal Holloway to other international students.
Next steps
We ran a paid in-person focus group in April after the survey closed. The feedback from both the focus group and the survey helped inform us on the issues that impact the international student experience. A list of recommendations will be collated over the summer months and published alongside the final report. These will be shared will University and Students’ Union stakeholders. The full report and a student summary will be shared on the Students’ Union website in Term One of the 2025-26 academic year.