Harvard intl students enrolment hits record

Harvard University enrolled a record number of international students in the current academic year, even as the Trump administration sought repeatedly to curb student visas and funding for the Ivy League school.The share of foreign students enrolled at Harvard in the fall of 2025 rose slightly to 28%, or 6,749 students, according to data published Friday by the university. That’s the most since at least 2002, according to Harvard data. The increase reflects a gain of roughly 50 students, a less than 1% increase. Still, the gain is notable in a period when Harvard faced significant scrutiny from the Trump administration and bucks the national trend. Foreign enrolment at US universities overall declined by 1% in the comparable period, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report, which is sponsored by the State Department.A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment on the enrolment data.Enrolment among Chinese students at Harvard grew at an even faster rate of 4.5%, despite increased tensions between their home country and the US over everything from tariffs to technology. Chinese students make up the largest international bloc at Harvard. South Korean enrolment grew by 8.7%, while students from India, the UK and Canada, other major sources of foreign graduates, were either flat or fell slightly.Harvard has been the main target of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape higher education, a campaign that started with a focus on campus antisemitism but widened into an attack on diversity programs and perceived political bias. The Trump administration last year froze billions of dollars in research funding and blocked Harvard from enrolling international students after the school refused to comply with demands over governance, admissions and hiring practices. Federal courts sided with Harvard in a pair of legal challenges over the funding cuts and visa blockade, although the administration is appealing. Under Trump, officials have sought to discourage international enrolment. The administration last fall offered select schools preferential federal funding if they agreed to certain conditions, including limiting foreign students to no more than 15% of their undergraduate headcount.While foreign enrolment at Harvard’s undergraduate school fell by 2.6% year-over-year, international headcount rose at its graduate programs. That contrasts with the broader trend, with the number of foreign graduate students studying at US universities dropping 12% year-over-year this fall, according to the Institute of International Education. Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health saw the most growth, with an 8% increase.