JRIE https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240918786690 Journal of Research in International Education 2018, Vol. 17(2) 164–178 © The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1475240918786690 journals.sagepub.com/home/jri International students’ transitions to UK Higher Education – revisiting the concept and practice of academic hospitality Josef Ploner University of Hull, UK Abstract With the increasing mobility of international students to UK universities, the appropriate facilitation of their transition remains a critical issue in terms of higher education practice and research. Much existing research and practice is characterised by assimilationist approaches to transition where international students are seen to ‘adapt to’ and ‘fit in’ seemingly uniform host environments. This study however draws on the concept of ‘academic hospitality’ (Bennett, 2000; Phipps & Barnett, 2007) to develop a more nuanced stance which emphasises reciprocity between academic ‘hosts’ and ‘guests’. The findings presented here emerge from semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of international students who spent their first year abroad at a well-established UK university. Elaborating on different experiences and forms of academic hospitality (material, virtual, epistemological, linguistic and touristic), the paper contributes to a refined theorisation of international student transition. It also offers valuable insights for academic practitioners and policy makers who seek sensible approaches to internationalisation. Keywords international student transition, internationalisation, UK higher education, academic hospitality, first-year experience Introduction Over the past 20 years or so, the continuous rise of international student numbers in UK higher education (HE) has presented new challenges as well as opportunities for the learning, teaching and assessment of students who emanate from diverse social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Before discussing some of these challenges and opportunities, it is worthwhile reflecting on the term ‘inter- national student/s’ which remains contested and weakly defined in academic and policy literature. In the UK, the term is applied to students who are not ‘domiciled’ in the country and emanate either from countries within the European Union (approximately 5.6% of the total UK student population; Corresponding author: Josef Ploner, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, Yorkshire HU6 7RX, UK. Email: j.ploner@hull.ac.uk 786690JRI 0 0 10.1177/1475240918786690Journal of Research in International EducationPloner research-article 2018 Article