Purpose: This study aims to explore the influence of the individual student profile of Hofstede's Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Collectiveness and Long-Term Orientation on student service quality expectations in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Data is collected via a survey consisting of items from a standard Hofstede and a higher education adapted SERVQUAL questionnaire. The survey sample includes 128 students who represent the entire population of a taught postgraduate course in Finance at a UK Higher Education Institution (HEI). Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlation analysis are used to describe and identify the relationship between student individual cultural values and student service quality expectations. Multiple regression analysis is applied to estimate the relationship between SERVQUAL constructs and items with respect to Hofstede's cultural determinants. Findings: The findings of this study suggest that individual culture can influence student service quality expectations in higher education. Practical implications: In a context of a prospective quality management approach, there is value for HEIs to explore the individual cultural profile of their students as a way of understanding and actively managing student service quality expectations. Originality/value: To the authors' best knowledge, no previous study combines the SERVQUAL and Hofstede models in exploring the impact of cultural values on student service quality expectations in higher education.