Asia has always had a good reputation for being welcoming and friendly towards foreigners.
International students, in particular, have benefited from many government policies and projects that help them not only get their foot into some of the best Asian universities but also remain in the country to build their careers abroad.
Better yet, it’s not just the governments doing what they can to entice these talents to make their way to their shores – the universities are doing it too.
Every university will claim that they welcome all students with open arms, but is that really true? Source: AFP
What does being welcomed at a university even mean?
It’s easy to feel like a fish out of water when you study abroad.
Not only are you on unfamiliar grounds, you’re also surrounded by thousands of people from different walks of life and circumstances, so any hesitation to dive straight into the student experience is excused.
That’s why being welcomed by a university can mean different things for individual international students.
For some, it could be as simple as a university sending you a care package before you even step foot into its halls; for others, it could be as all-encompassing as having a dedicated advisor help you with your visa applications to study abroad.
For others, it could be fearing discrimination.
You should never be made to feel uncomfortable in your own skin wherever you are. Source: AFP
Are the best Asian universities supportive of all students, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, or ability?
Simply existing in a place should never be an issue, no matter where you choose to study. And while this should be the norm across all universities, not everyone states that explicitly.
Thailand’s Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), however, does. On their eligibility page, the university states that they provide equal academic opportunities to all applicants and students regardless of their national origin, gender or sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status or disability.
It might not sound like much to a majority of applicants, but for those who aren’t, that one line could be a game-changer.
That aside, some universities may shut down any discussion of topics they find unfavourable, finding an institution that allows its community to talk about these controversial subjects is a green flag.
For example, while Singapore has slowly turned towards a more liberal view of the queer community in recent years, a significant number remain undecided on such issues, reports a survey by market research firm Ipsos.
This, however, hasn’t stopped the National University of Singapore’s QueerNUS, a collective that stands for diversity and inclusion for the NUS community regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, from being formed back in 2018 and remains very active to this day.
Another example is Japan’s University of Tsukuba’s dedication to providing support for students with disabilities.
Here, the university’s Centre for Diversity, Accessibility, and Career Development provides guidance and advice to Tsukuba’s various educational organisations regarding support methods for students with disabilities. They also look into ways to make the campus environment more accessible and work to create a system that will allow students to have equal access to services throughout the campus.
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Do Asian universities offer ample student support?
Any university can claim to provide student support, but the best Asian universities help you every step of the way.
At Tsinghua University, the International Students & Scholars Centre (ISSC) supports and serves international students and scholars throughout their time at the school. Here, you’ll find information and resources for immigration and visas, residency, university services, campus life, and cultural activities.
One exchange student wrote: “When I first arrived [at Tsinghua] I was super overwhelmed with the feelings of being in a new country and a new school. But when I arrived at the registration site, everyone was super friendly and helpful, which definitely helped calm my nerves. I could tell the staff was working as hard as they could to make things fast and efficient.”
The ISSC isn’t the only support students at Tsinghua can find; there’s the Centre for Student Learning and Development (CSLD) too. This is where the one-on-one free academic advising, drop-in tutoring for STEM courses, Chinese writing tutoring, workshops, lectures, and Buddy Plan (a platform for cooperative learning) take place – perhaps all you need and more for your time at the university.
No two student experiences are alike, but at the best Asian universities, international students will definitely find common highs and lows together. Source: AFP
Being tolerant vs being inclusive: Knowing the difference
Again, it’s easy for a university to put words on its site and not stand by them. They could boast a huge international student body and amazing student support facilities, but at the end of the day, they (and their community) should be able to deliver their promises.
For Max Wiersma, trying to get involved in university activities while he was studying in the Netherlands required having to pierce through inner circles or depend on your personal connections. This was hardly the case when he joined South Korea’s Kyungpook National University for his second bachelor’s degree.
“It’s really communal,” says Wiersma. “People wouldn’t care that I was an international student. They were always welcoming and happy to have me join, whether that was things organised by the major, or things organised by university campus clubs.”
It can feel really isolating and upsetting when you don’t get the right support. Source: AFP
Diversity vs inclusivity – breaking it down
The Cambridge Dictionary defines diversity as “the fact of many different types of things or people being included in something,” and inclusivity as “the fact of including all types of people, things or ideas and treating them all fairly and equally.”
The thing is, a university can be diverse without being inclusive, and vice versa.
So, how can you find out if their promotions of being diverse and inclusive are true or simply just something put out as a checklist? Let’s discuss.
How to look at a university’s diversity metrics
The fastest and easiest way to find out how diverse a university is is by looking up how many international students make up the student body.
On the same note, some universities will also report the number of countries represented on campus, giving you a more in-depth idea of where these international students are coming from.
Most universities will have those numbers somewhere on their sites. For example, Malaysia’s Asia Pacific University (APU) boasts over 11,000 students from more than 110 countries, though you’ll want to take that with some salt as other sites state that the number is closer to a student population of over 14,000 students, 6,000 of which are international students from more than 130 countries.
The data for other universities, however, are less readily available. And while you can always comb your way through Google, QS offers a faster solution.
All it takes is signing up for an account on the site and heading to its World University Rankings (WUR) page. From there, you’ll find different categories on the university’s block, the first being Research & Discover, followed by Learning Experience, Employability, etc. What you’ll want to do is scroll to the end, to the More Info section, and you’ll find the Student Mix, giving you a percentage of the domestic and international student body found at the university.
Source: Screenshot from QS World University Rankings 2025
At a glance, the three best Asian universities with a higher percentage of international students are:
- The City University of Hong Kong, #62 on QS WUR: 74%
- The University of Hong Kong, #17 on QS WUR: 45%
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, #47 on QS WUR: 40%
Lastly, you’ll also want to look at how much of the university’s staff and faculty comprises international talent.
Like the international student numbers, some universities will publish the data on their websites. Take the City University of Hong Kong, for example, where 70% of its academic staff come from outside Hong Kong.
Again, you’ll also be able to find the International Faculty Ratio – that is, an indicator which looks at the ratio of international faculty staff to overall staff – on QS, this time under Global Engagement.
It’s not easy to make friends when you’re somewhere new, but some places are quicker to accept newbies than others. Source: AFP
How to tell if a university is actually inclusive
Unlike with the diversity metrics, it’s harder to put numbers on whether a university is actually inclusive.
That said, there are some ways for you to look into this, and it starts with reading up on student testimonies of their time at the school, regardless of whether they were in the university for an exchange or a full programme.
This gives you a more organic look into what an international student’s life can look like – and it might even inspire you to give the university a chance too.
Take Phyo Thiri Lwin’s story, for example.
As a second-year Burmese student at the University of Hong Kong, she first struggled with adjusting to a new culture and environment before finding her footing through participating in programmes offered by the university’s Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS).
Soon enough, she was giving back to the community, serving as a local connector and helping new students transition smoothly into university life herself.
Another example comes from Jenny Yeung, a student from the University of New South Wales, Australia, who participated in an exchange at NUS.
“Academic life in Singapore was rigorous, and nothing balanced this better than having a web of support,” Yeung writes in her testimony. “I met dining hall aunties at college who offered to help me with laundry when I complained about having too much work. And, I had classmates who offered to personally deliver hawker centre food they knew I had missed because I had stayed in to meet an assignment deadline.”
“People I have met have been extraordinary,” she continues. “I say with no exaggeration that they have made me a better, a more whole person.”
But if you don’t trust these written stories, one fool-proof way of discovering whether or not the best Asian universities will have their arms wide open to welcome you into their ranks is simply speaking to the current international students at the school.
Almost all universities will have some sort of international student network or country-specific cultural organisation that you can easily find online, so it’s simply a matter of gathering your courage and shooting them a message.
