International Student Mobility in Psychology: an Analysis of Brazilian Students in Portuguese Higher Education

Abstract

Student mobility has been one of the most impactful manifestations of higher education (HE) internationalization. Recently, many studies have looked at this phenomenon, although few have focused on mobility from countries which are not major student exporters and to countries that are not main recruiters. This paper aims to uncover how the increasing internationalization of HE is reflected in the mobility of Brazilian Psychology postgraduate students to Portugal, two countries which share a metropolis-colony past. Two objectives are pursued: first, to carry out a characterization of Psychology postgraduate students from Brazil who study in Portugal; second, to analyze the assignment of scholarships by the Brazilian government. Descriptive analysis and a social network analysis technique were performed to official statistical data available in both countries. Social Sciences, Business and Law is the most sought-after area by Brazilian students in mobility, and within this area, Psychology students are third in absolute numbers. The majority of Psychology students were in degree mobility, being almost ten times more than those in credit mobility, and a constant preference for public institutions was observed. The Portuguese institutions most sought-after are the University of Porto, the University of Coimbra and the University of Lisbon. Institutions located in Brazil’s South and southeast regions stand out with the number of mobility grants. This work contributes to shed light on realities of international mobility beyond the major recruiting and/or sending countries. Its novelty also resides in the contribution to knowledge about mobility between spaces where a colonial logic leads students’ flows.