The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence international students' sense of belonging. An in-depth review of existing research on sense of belonging helped me identify 18 factors closely connected to the sense of belonging of international students. I categorized these factors into four groups: (a) academic integration, (b) social integration, (c) campus climate, and (d) transition factors, and developed a 41-item questionnaire for students. I administered the questionnaire to international students attending higher education institutions in the Great Lakes region, which consists of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Ten variables connected to each of the four groups of factors emerged as statistically significant predictors of international students' sense of belonging: (a) academic involvement, (b) relationship with faculty, (c) friends/peer support, (d) learning community, (e) nationalism in host country, (f) on campus services (support staff), (g) diversity on campus, (h) dietary restrictions, (i) language ability, and (j) racism/discrimination. The results of the study suggest that the academic environment, campus services and resources, the racial climate of the campus in regard to diversity or lack of it, and the nationalism in a country play a role in an international student's sense of belonging. These results show that institutions must pay attention to a complex set of factors when trying to recruit and retain their international students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]