“I am really proud that Trinity is regarded as one of the world’s most international universities. Our international character is one of our greatest strengths… At a time when some are promoting a retreat into isolationism, it is important to speak about, and celebrate, the huge benefits of international collaboration and dialogue.” – Linda Doyle

In February of 2023, Trinity College Dublin was placed at a respectable 16th on a list of the “most international universities” in the world. When asked for comment, Provost Linda Doyle provided the above quote (among others) describing the “huge benefits” of having international students and faculty. Upon reading this information, I was left with one question: what are these huge benefits?

Despite having spent two years at TCD as an international student, I was not aware there were any huge benefits to be reaped from my enrollment. If anything, I’d long since concluded that my presence was a detriment, providing little beyond mere entertainment value for the benefit of my more intelligent peers. Where others were well-prepared for the various academic obstacles that lay ahead, my time in the American public school system had taught me about things like Ronald Reagan, and how to write my name on a piece of paper. In my first year, whenever I was called on to speak in a tutorial, the only points I could make were about trickle-down-economics, or the necessity of tearing down the Berlin Wall (much to the amusement of all who attended History of Western Philosophy I). As a result of this, my early conclusion was this: the only ‘benefit’ of having an American in the room is simply that it’s an easy way to make everyone feel better about themselves. Or, perhaps, as mascots to advertise the merits of neoliberal capitalism– but I digress.

 I would be delusional, of course, to think that I had personally been selected by TCD for the sole purpose of mockery (or propaganda). The world doesn’t work that way. In any case, I had failed to consider the obvious: higher tuition fees! 

For the upcoming academic year, the average EU resident (including residents of the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland) can expect to pay anywhere from €5,000-9,000 in tuition. For everyone else, these figures are more than doubled: the minimum, with few exceptions, is €20,000, though for some courses this number jumps to €27,000 (or higher). This begs the question: why is there such a gap in fees? What purpose does this serve? 

The Times Higher Education statistics touted by the Provost assert that there are 17,764 students at TCD, and 28% of them are international students. Using imprecise mathematics, we can say that there are around 5,000 international students (give or take 26.08). Assuming the average international student pays around €22,000 in tuition fees, further calculations will give us a total sum of €110,000,000 collected in fees from international students. Assuming that non-international students (of which there are around 12,790) pay an average of €7,000, we find a sum of €89,530,000.

One might assume at first that the extra money is used to accommodate the international student, in order to help them find their footing in a foreign city; this is not the case. Talk to any student who hails from outside Dublin, and you are bound to hear tales of housing-related struggle – tales in which the TCD Accommodation Offices are often notably absent. When the College does get involved with matters of housing, it is usually for the yearly raising of the rent, with annual increases of 2% over the last few years. If TCD-owned accommodation is no longer available, the College will happily point you in the direction of privately-owned alternatives, which have risen both in prominence and in price across the city.

I have often thought that it would be very interesting to see an itemised list containing all of the expenditures paid for by the college with my twenty grand. Of course, one would expect (quite reasonably) that much of the funds are allocated towards things like teacher salaries and building maintenance; however, the imagination produces far wilder scenes, of champagne and caviar, diamond chandeliers and fur coats…

Though I doubt I will ever see such a report, I can say with relative certainty that no money was spent to help me (or any of my peers, really) with housing-related woes. 

    But only the cynic would contend that higher tuition fees are the only benefit to having international students around. Over time, I’ve come to terms with my tuition fees (and more importantly, so have my parents). No matter how bad the circumstances are in Dublin, I consider myself lucky to have escaped the bottomless money-pit that is higher education in the USA, where lifelong-debt is incurred for the sake of dreams that can never be realised, and the best and brightest are forgotten in favour of those who have the most.

There must be some benefit to having large quantities of non-Irish students enrolled at TCD, besides an extra digit on the tuition check. Being the product of a globalised society myself, I decided to rack my brains, searching for how exactly myself and my imported peers benefit the life and culture of TCD.

As my brains were being racked, I thought about why I’d come to TCD in the first place, and what might drive other students from around the world to do the same (ignoring, for the moment, Sally Rooney’s bestseller). Most would agree that the purpose of higher education is to continue learning beyond the minimum requirements of state-enforced schooling. There are many motivators for attending university: the chance to explore a subject of interest, preparation for a career, or even just personal growth (for philosophy students it is often none of these things, but that’s beside the point). The point, I suppose, is that university students are driven by a variety of motivators, but the common thread that unites us all is learning – about the world, about each other, about ourselves – and the scope of such pursuits is by no means limited to the classroom or lecture hall. Learning occurs on all levels of university life, and I would argue that having an international student body is a great help in facilitating this important process.

The benefits of an international university, then, extend across all areas of academic and social life: international students and faculty alike offer unique insights, perspectives, and opportunities, all of which are often rarely found within more homogenous student bodies. What, you might ask, is so great about unique insights, perspectives, or opportunities? Sure, it might sound good in the abstract, but is this really the ‘huge benefit’ touted by the Provost?

The answer: a resounding Yes! (“besides the tuition fees,” grumbles the cynic, painstakingly inscribing the last ‘zero’ on their check). It is no secret that Ireland, like many other parts of the world, is plagued by elements of xenophobia and intolerance. According to a recent study from the Irish Council for International Students (ICOS), two-thirds of all international students in Ireland have experienced or witnessed racism. It goes without saying that this is not a statistic to be proud of. Given the historical context, this is understandable; Ireland, until the end of the last century, was one of the most homogenous nations in Europe. The last three decades, by contrast, have seen unprecedented growth in diversity. Though the current situation is less than optimal, there is hope: as the population of Ireland increases in diversity, so too does the prominence of the aforementioned insights, perspectives, and opportunities, and the potential for a more tolerant society.

Research shows that it is indeed possible for people to grow more tolerant through mere exposure to different types of people. In one study (White, Wieneke, & Zebrowitz, 2008), white participants were exposed to the faces of strangers of different ethnicities. The experiment found that upon seeing new strangers of those same ethnicities, the white participants responded more positively than before. Another study, however, demonstrates the opposite: white people who interact only with other white people are more prejudiced towards different groups (Smith, Dijksterhuis, & Chaiken, 2007). Biases (of both the implicit and explicit variety) are both well-documented and heavily researched phenomena, and it seems clear that an easy way to dispel such biases is through exposure to many types of people. Fortunately, there are few places better for meeting different types of people than on the campus of a university.

 Of course, the student body of TCD is by no means representative of the population of the entire country, but similar trends in other universities – UCD, for example – can be interpreted as signs of a nation heading towards a more tolerant and inclusive future. Students of these universities, who have had the infinitely valuable experience of learning in such a unique environment, will one day graduate, bringing with them the propensity for open-mindedness. By opening the doors to a wider range of students, from diverse and international backgrounds, we open simultaneously the doors to a more peaceful and tolerant society.

The ‘huge benefits’ to be reaped from international students (and faculty) are open to interpretation. As always, there’s the matter of finances, and whether or  not you choose to dwell on this is up to you; however, it seems clear that in a world of hostility– where “…some are promoting a retreat into isolationism,” to quote the Provost once again– an international campus can only be regarded as a point of pride. And while it’s nice to be ranked high on a list, TCD has more to be proud of than mere statistics; the College is at the forefront of a positive global trend, one which has the potential to help change the world for the better.