Abstract

MENDOZA, Cristóbal  and  ORTIZ GUITART, Anna. Migration processes and life transitions among foreign young PhD students in Barcelona, Spain. Econ. soc. territ [online]. 2016, vol.16, n.50, pp.103-131. ISSN 2448-6183.

Literature on "migrants in the middle" is an emerging topic in the field of the international migration studies. These migrants generally have medium to high levels of formal education and occupy intermediate job positions in labour markets, because of their age and/or their relatively scarce labour experience. The paper is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with foreign PhD students in Barcelona universities. It focuses on their motivations for emigration, and their labour and life trajectories in the light of future expectations. The paper explores the complex process of leaving home in relation with their everyday spatial practices and experiences.

Keywords : Student migration; migrants in the middle; migration trajectories; life transitions; Barcelona.