International branch campuses

International branch campuses (IBCs) are satellite bricks-and-mortar entities established by a higher education institution in a foreign country. The increased popularity of neoliberal ideology has spurred ambitions of entrepreneurial higher education institutions, but also host governments have often instigated such initiatives, with 333 IBCs operating globally at the start of 2023. IBCs are often associated with neocolonialism, as source countries such as United Kingdom, France and Russia were former colonizers, while host countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Uzbekistan were former colonies. IBCs generally aspire to replicate Western models of higher education, where students follow Western curricula using Western pedagogies, and where the language of instruction is English. This contribution addresses research on IBCs from a sociology of education perspective; themes that figure largely are the motivations for setting up or hosting IBCs, neo-colonialized/Westernized curricula, student diversity and quality assurance.