Choosing a Polish university by foreign students. Case study of International Marketing programme

The aim of this paper is to provide an evidence-based picture — based on the results of qualitative research conducted in 2021 by means of in-depth interviews — of the decision making process of international students when choosing Polish public universities as a place where they want to study. The research focused on International Marketing course taught in English at the Department of International Marketing and Retailing at the University of Łódź. It covered mainly students from the former USSR countries, with an emphasis on Ukrainian students. The subject of the analysis was the factors behind the choice of a foreign university, including the role played by external recruitment agencies and the staff of the University of Łódź International Relations Office. A clear dominance was observed of the word-of-mouth marketing in making such decisions.

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