Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University

Sylvestre Munyengabe; He Haiyan; Shan Liangyan; Zhao Yiyi

doi:10.12973/ejmste/80754

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Sylvestre Munyengabe ¹, He Haiyan ¹ ^* , Shan Liangyan ¹, Zhao Yiyi ¹

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¹ School of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, CHINA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study tried to explore what motivates international students to attain PhD graduation requirements in mathematics and sciences studies in a Chinese research university. The design of the study was qualitative and all collected data were analyzed by thematic analysis. The study explored the motive forces that enable international PhD students to persist and solve all challenging situations to fulfill PhD graduation requirements in mathematics and sciences studies. The internal and external motivations were found to be the main cause of their persistence to continue their studies until they meet their graduation requirements. International PhD students in mathematics and sciences reported to be challenged by the communication barriers, unfit social interaction, advanced software to be used and different high requirements to be attained in a research university. The discussions of findings considered other existing related studies and theories that help people to persist and achieve their desired goals and targets. Possible solutions to existing challenges and further research’ areas were suggested in this study.

Keywords

mathematics and sciences studies
graduation’ requirements
international students
internal motivation
goal setting and expectancy

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2017, Volume 13, Issue 12, 8027-8037

https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754

Publication date: 22 Nov 2017

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How to cite this article

APA

Munyengabe, S., Haiyan, H., Liangyan, S., & Yiyi, Z. (2017). Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(12), 8027-8037. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754

Vancouver

Munyengabe S, Haiyan H, Liangyan S, Yiyi Z. Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(12):8027-37. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754

AMA

Munyengabe S, Haiyan H, Liangyan S, Yiyi Z. Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(12), 8027-8037. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754

Chicago

Munyengabe, Sylvestre, He Haiyan, Shan Liangyan, and Zhao Yiyi. "Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2017 13 no. 12 (2017): 8027-8037. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754

Harvard

Munyengabe, S., Haiyan, H., Liangyan, S., and Yiyi, Z. (2017). Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(12), pp. 8027-8037. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754

MLA

Munyengabe, Sylvestre et al. "Motivation to pursue PhD Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Studies among International Students in a Research University". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 13, no. 12, 2017, pp. 8027-8037. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80754