Research Outline

Higher Education Marketing Best Practices

Goals

To build the psychographic profile of a typical Latin American graduate student.

Early Findings

  • Graduate students in the countries of Latin America think and make different study abroad choices. It is important to separate the marketing strategies by country. "A Mexican student may prefer to study in the United Kingdom, while a student from Colombia or Argentina will choose to study in Spain."
  • The motivations for Latin American graduate students pursuing master's degree are ranked by importance as follows:
  • The top five subjects among Latin American students for postgraduate studies are:
  • "Compared to the global average, Latin American student survey respondents were especially likely to be applying to study a STEM discipline." More than 33% of Latin American students were applying for postgraduate degrees in STEM subjects; "this compares to less than 21% of students when considering the total global sample."
  • In terms of favored study destinations, the most popular choices among Latin American students (ranked by popularity) are the UK, the US, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia.
  • Sixty percent of abroad studies selections went to European destinations, over 20% to the US and Canada, almost 10% to Asian countries, and 9% to Australia and New Zealand.
  • The top motivations for Latin American students to study abroad are:
    • International recognition of qualification: 18.6%
    • Cultural interest and lifestyle: 16.7%
    • Scholarship/financial aid: 13.8%
    • Improve language skills: 13.1%
    • Would like to work there afterwards: 11.8%