This study examines rationales for internationalization at a research intensive university in the UK. Internationalization is often described at a macro level without reaching down to explore the individual motivations that may support or constrain internationalization at a particular institution. The article argues that it is important to understand internationalization at a local level as well as at the macro level. Any university's internationalization agenda will be both similar and different to other institutions, based on its history and immediate ambitions. There are institutional rationales and rationales across different levels of staff within the institution. Comparing rationales within an institution adds a richness to the picture of internationalization and helps to explain and predict an university's internationalization trajectory. Studies such as this at a local level can help to uncover some of the real personal motivators for action that impel academics to engage with and shape internationalization at their university.