Embracing the global: the role of ranking, research mandate, and sector in the internationalisation of higher education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Universities around the world are increasingly orienting themselves towards global engagement in the form of internationalisation. This article examines how the importance of internationalisation and international research collaborations varies across institutions. Using data from the Fourth Global Survey of Internationalisation, it finds that research orientation, sector, and ranking influence the prioritisation of internationalisation in nuanced ways. Globally ranked institutions express a high level of commitment to both internationalisation and international research collaborations. In contrast, unranked public institutions prioritise internationalisation less overall than unranked private institutions, but international research collaborations more. I argue that even in the contemporary era of globalisation, public colleges and universities continue to be more explicitly nation-serving and research-oriented than private ones. In contrast, among globally ranked institutions, public and private universities use internationalisation to signal their standing as global research universities. The article deepens our understanding of how internationalisation is differentially affecting higher education institutions.