Liberia has survived a fourteen-year civil war. Within this time, many Liberians were
forced to flee their countries and seek refuge. The United States and Liberia have held a
long-standing friendly relationship; hence, there are thousands of Liberian refugees living
within the United States. The educational issues of refugees worldwide is lacking in
research. Consequently, the purpose of this dissertation is to gain an understanding of the
lived experiences of adult Liberian refugees matriculating within American college
classrooms. Through phenomenological methodology, the lived experiences of ten
Liberian refugees enrolled within American college classrooms produced valuable
results. Three major themes were found that described the perceptions and barriers to
Liberian refugees academic success.