Global competence (GC) has become a crucial skill for students in higher education and has been prioritized in talent development objectives at colleges and universities in China, especially in the context of globalization. However, concerns have been voiced that the extensive exposure to global culture and values through mass media may lead to an alteration of college students' national identity (NI) influenced by global culture and foreign values. Consequently, maintaining a delicate equilibrium between the fostering of GC and NI in college students becomes of paramount importance.The main purpose of this quantitative non-experimental causal-comparative study was to explore the current level and the relationship of GC and NI of ISEC (International Scholarly Exchange Curriculum) program students in China, as well as the differences in GC and NI based on their gender, major, grade, frequency of going abroad, educational background of parents, and family annual income. There were 886 participants who took the questionnaire. The results showed the overall GC of ISEC program students in China was in the strong level, while their NI fell into the highest range of the superior level. The findings indicated a weak positive correlation between GC and NI of ISEC students which was statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences in terms of GC based on gender, frequency of going abroad, parental educational background, and family annual income. Meanwhile, there were statistically significant differences in terms of NI of ISEC students based on their gender, major, parental educational background.Since there is a scarcity of research focusing on the balanced development of GC and NI in ISEC program students, this research can fill the gap in the literature. The research results supported evidence-based decisions for educational leaders on how to improve curricula, teaching, technologies, and schools' responses to cultural diversity and global challenges. Recommendations were also provided to prepare young people to become active citizens with strong GC and NI in an interconnected world. [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.]