International student mobility and future migration aspirations and capabilities – a comparison between postgraduate students in medicine and social sciences and humanities

Abstract This study examines how international student mobility (ISM) shapes the future migration aspirations and capabilities of postgraduate students from Germany studying abroad in the fields of medicine and the social sciences and humanities (SSH). These two disciplines represent different expectations and levels of engagement with mobility, as well as different levels of professional orientation within their studies. This becomes relevant in cases where future migration is mainly aspired for professional development and work. Drawing on 69 in-depth interviews and using the aspirations-capabilities framework (ACF), the paper compares how students from these two disciplines conceptualise and navigate future migration – and how they utilise aspirations and capabilities born out of their field-specific experiences. Findings show that medical students, supported by clear career pathways and wider recognized qualifications, typically exhibit intrinsic aspirations toward future migration, motivated by curiosity, personal growth, and altruistic goals. Their strong professional capabilities afford them high positive freedom to migrate. In contrast, SSH students face structural uncertainties and more limited capabilities, leading to more instrumental aspirations where migration is contingent upon job availability. However, SSH students often reframe uncertainty and spatial flexibility as strengths, developing adaptive capabilities through their ISM experience. Despite disciplinary differences, all students reflect on constraints such as family, geopolitics, and institutional structures, revealing that future migration intentions arise from the dynamic interplay of imagined opportunities and real-life conditions. This study extends the ACF to the underexplored population of students and provides empirical insight into how ISM affects students’ long-term mobility trajectories across academic fields.