A number of methods have been recorded in the literature with regard to assessing intercultural competence, but extant reviews tend to focus on self-report instruments in which students' responses can be easily quantified. To address the gap, this paper provides an overview of qualitative methods used to assess students' intercultural competence in higher education research. Based on 34 studies, 25 qualitative assessment methods have been identified and captured in a newly-developed typology. Results show that (1) the majority of qualitative methods to assess intercultural competence were writing-based and ‘expressive’ in nature; (2) the assessment results were mainly analysed in a ‘thematic’ or ‘scalar’ manner; and (3) very little assessment took place among STEM majors. These results are further discussed and problematized to provide implications for developing and assessing intercultural competence in higher education research and curriculum.

文献中记录了许多关于评估跨文化能力的方法，但现有的评论往往侧重于自我报告工具，在这些工具中学生的反应可以很容易地量化。为了解决这一差距，本文概述了用于评估学生在高等教育研究中的跨文化能力的定性方法。基于 34 项研究，已在新开发的类型学中确定并捕获了 25 种定性评估方法。结果表明（1）评估跨文化能力的大多数定性方法本质上是基于写作和“表达”的；(2) 评估结果主要以“主题”或“标量”的方式进行分析；(3) STEM 专业的评估很少。