Disciplinary Composition of International Students in Russian Universities: Political, Administrative, and Market Logics of Internationalization in Historical Perspective

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the association between the disciplinary composition of international students and the prevailing logic of university internationalization in the given country in historical perspective. It uses an original longitudinal dataset compiled from archival records and administrative statistics across several benchmark points from the mid-1970s to 2024, to analyse the disciplinary structure of international student enrolment at Soviet and Russian universities across four historical periods, each characterized by a distinct combination of political, market, and administrative logics. It is shown that the association between disciplinary composition and prevailing governance logic operates through two mechanisms: recruitment instruments that define or constrain field of study choices for state-funded students, and country of origin composition that generates disciplinary demand patterns among students attracted through market mechanisms. Findings demonstrate that longitudinal monitoring of disciplinary distribution provides a deeper understanding of how internationalization policies function in practice than total enrolment numbers alone.