Harvard, University of Toronto make contingency plan to allow foreign students to study if barred from US

Harvard University and the University of Toronto have revealed a contingency plan that would allow select international Harvard graduate students to continue their education in Canada if the Trump administration’s plan to impose U.S. visa restrictions and prevent them from re-entering the U.S. is upheld by the courts.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security moved last month to terminate Harvard’s ability to enroll international students after the university allegedly failed to provide extensive behavioral records of student visa holders the agency had requested, including footage of protest activity involving student visa holders, even if it’s not criminal, and the disciplinary records of all student visa holders in the past five years.

A federal judge has since blocked the government’s effort to end the university’s visa program.

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Because of potential U.S. visa challenges, students at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government who may be unable to return to the U.S. will be given the option to continue their studies through a visiting student program at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

The program would combine courses taught by Kennedy and Munk faculty members, according to the deans of both institutions.

The contingency plans were released to ease student uncertainty, but will only be used if there is enough demand from students unable to enter the U.S. over potential visa or entry restrictions, the deans said in a statement.

“With these contingency plans in place, HKS will be able to continue to provide a world-class public policy education to all of our students, even if they cannot make it to our campus this year,” Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said.

The program will be available to international students who have already completed one year at the U.S. campus.

The Trump administration has moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard, in part, over its handling of alleged antisemitism and violence on campus amid anti-Israel protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Weinstein announced staff layoffs at Kennedy in a recent email to faculty and staff, citing “unprecedented new headwinds” creating “significant financial challenges,” including a “substantial proposed increase in the endowment tax” and “massive cuts to federal funding of research.”

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Over the past five years, more than 50% of Kennedy students have come from outside the U.S., the school’s media office said.

A total of 739 students from 92 countries in programs aimed at developing leadership in public policy and government are enrolled at the school, according to the Harvard International Office website.

Reuters contributed to this report.