Introduction:

Nowadays, it is much easier to plan an international career and put those plans into action than it used to be many decades ago, though the process is not entirely free of difficulties, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim of the research:

Determination the level and structure of artistically gifted students’ motivation to pursue achievement in an international career and to identify the psychological predictors of this type of motivation.

Material and methods:

Surveys were conducted in 2020–2021. The sample consisted of 154 artistically gifted students and 184 students who did not display artistic ability. Five measures were used: Bańka’s Scale of Achievement Motivation in an International Career, Schuler et al.’s Achievement Motivation Inventory adapted into Polish by Klinkosz and Sękowski, Judge et al.’s Core Self-Evaluations Scale adapted into Polish by Walczak and Derbis, Makarowski’s Stimulating and Instrumental Risk Questionnaire, and Plopa and Makarowski’s Perception of Stress Questionnaire.

Results and conclusions:

The general level of fine arts students’ motivation to pursue achievement in an international career was low, but it was still significantly higher than in the comparison group. The level of the general motivation for success in both groups was average compared to norms. Motivation associated with performance-approach goals was above average in both groups. The global Perception of Stress, Ambition, and Instrumental Risk scores were found to be positive predictors of aspects of motivation to pursue achievement in an international career in artistically gifted students.