Harvard and University of Toronto make contingency plan

27/6/2025 6:22

Harvard University and the

University of Toronto have unveiled a contingency plan that

would allow select Harvard graduate students to continue their

studies in Canada if U.S. visa restrictions prevent them from

re-entering the United States.



It is the first international student backup strategy

announced since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security moved

last month to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll

international students. A federal judge has since blocked the

government's move.



In response to potential U.S. visa challenges, students at

Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government who

are unable to return to the United States will have 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, the deans of both institutions said in a statement sent

to Reuters this week.



The contingency plans are being announced to ease student

uncertainty, but will only be implemented if there is enough

demand from those unable to enter the U.S. due to visa or entry

restrictions, the statement said.



“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.



U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened

or moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding

for Harvard. The administration has accused the university of

failing to adequately address antisemitism and campus violence,

violating reporting requirements, and coordinating with foreign

entities, including China’s Communist Party, in ways that raise

national security concerns.



Over the past five years, 52% of Kennedy students have come

from outside the United States, the school's media office said.



The school enrolls 739 students from 92 countries in

programs aimed at developing leadership in public policy and

government, according to the Harvard International Office

website.