There is a considerable amount of research investigating academic sojourners’ experience of cross-cultural integration in the host universities. However, there has been dearth of research which focuses on the perceptions and motivations of the sojourners study abroad.  This study, therefore, is aimed at garnering an understanding of five Indonesian academic sojourners studying master degree in the UK and Australian Universities with various majors in relation to their genuine motivations and perceptions of pursuing higher degree in the two English-speaking countries. With this in mind, personal narrative interviews via telephone, WhatsApp and Zoom Meeting were used to get an insight of their motivations and perceptions of studying abroad. The data which were garnered from narrative interviews then transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. The findings of the current study suggest that the ultimate motivation of the sojourners to study abroad is to seek for a hands-on international experience to develop their academic purposes, personal interests and professional development. In addition, institution’s reputation and the ‘unique’ majors of the study are also the most prevalent motivation for Indonesian sojourners to study abroad. This research is expected to contribute to the vast increase in the number of Indonesian students choosing to study overseas.

Keywords: academic sojourners, motivations and perceptions, studying abroad