International Students’ Lived Experiences with Intercultural Competence in a Southwest Florida University

Intercultural competence reflects higher education institutions’ commitment to the internationalization of campus, programs, and curricula and results in attracting/retaining international students. Numerous studies explore international students’ challenges adapting to the receiving country; however, limited research investigates their experiences with intercultural competence. Thus, a phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the lived experiences of 12 international students with intercultural competence at a Southwest Florida university. The constant comparison method identified three dimensions of the participants’ lived experiences: institutional, curricular, and interpersonal. The findings indicated a lack of intercultural competence in each dimension, significantly impacting students’ academic and social experiences.