Understanding international students' barriers in their first-year at a U.S. University

International students in the United States face several challenges when transitioning into college. The purpose of this paper is to understand how international students perceive the barriers they face in their first year attending college in the United States and to learn about the resources international students are utilizing for support. Data were collected qualitatively through individual interviews with 6 first-year international students. Data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis procedures. Results suggest that the barriers international engineering students face when attending college in the United States are complex and are summarized in terms of academic challenges, social and emotional adaptability, cultural clashes, and relationships with domestic students. Our findings provide implications for engineering education research on how to study international students' barriers, for practice on how to make first year classrooms more inclusive, and for advising on how to provide support that is required for international students