%D 2020
%L theses_frw3255
%A Isla Nina Burgos-Watkinson
%T International Student Migration and Happiness: A Qualitative Study
%X The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the factors contributing to happiness and subjective well-being for university students who have migrated to another country to obtain a university degree. Inductive empirical qualitative research was conducted through 14 semi-structured interviews. These interviews yielded numerous results, showing that the main influencing factors for international students were cross-cultural desires, (educational and environmental), social networks and adaptation. These three factors contradict extensive research on happiness and subjective well-being due to not taking into account life stage. For example, relationship status, income and employment were not found to be of importance in the study. Future research avenues are considered such as researching other university cities or carrying out longitudinal studies.