Russian students in Norway: Why they come and how they cope

Abstract

The number of Russian students enrolled in Norwegian higher education institutions has grown in recent years. Russians now constitute a substantial part of the international student population in Norway. In the spring of 2014 a survey was conducted among international students in Norway. This report presents the main results for the Russian students responding to this survey. Among the questions asked are: Why do Russians choose to study in Norway? How do they assess the quality of education? To what extent are they integrated into the academic environment and in social life? Do they plan to stay in Norway upon graduation? To what extent do they diverge from other international students? The report is funded by the Norwegian Research Council. It is as a part of the NORRUSS project ’Higher Education in the High North: Regional Restructuring through Educational Exchanges and Student Mobility’, funded by The Research Council of Norway and coordinated by the University of Nordland.