Studying Abroad during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experiences of Three African Women PhD Students

Abstract

International students have faced unique challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This essay shares three stories from African women doctoral students who are scholarship recipients under the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund. They are conducting cutting-edge research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) towards their PhD degrees and have found themselves in a foreign land during the pandemic. Their stories illustrate the pandemic’s impacts on their personal lives and research productivity and their immense resilience in the face of challenges brought on by the pandemic.