Ongoing restrictions on the issuance of visas to international students in the United States could open up the possibility for talented academics to move to the UK for study. US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on 4 June banning Harvard University from accepting foreign students, citing national security concerns, the latest step in an ongoing dispute with the university.
This followed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's May 28 announcement that the administration would "aggressively cancel" visas specifically for Chinese students, although it is unclear how this will be done. A federal judge in Boston on Thursday temporarily blocked Trump's ban on foreigners entering the US at Harvard University. Under a two-page temporary restraining order granted to Harvard, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs barred Trump's proclamation from going into effect until further court proceedings on the matter in the escalating dispute between the Ivy League school and the Republican president.
The judge ruled that Trump's directive banning foreigners from entering the United States to study at Harvard for the next six months will cause "immediate and irreparable harm" before the court has a chance to review the case. What happens next is unclear. But even if Trump does not get his way, the consequences of his policy, which eliminates the legal status of thousands of current international students, are likely to be long-lasting.
Chinese students
China is the largest source of international students in the world, with more than 1 million of its 50 million university students studying abroad. In the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 277,000 Chinese students were enrolled at U.S. institutions. The UK is not far behind. More than 166,000 Chinese students are currently enrolled in UK universities, making China the largest single source of international students in the country. According to Charlene Song, a PhD student at University College London's Institute of Education, a tightening US stance could shift the balance in favour of studying in the UK, which has a diverse and welcoming culture.
"According to the Chinese Ministry of Education's 2025 report, the UK ranked first in terms of overall study abroad environment," he says. Song said Singapore and Canada now ranked second and third, and the United States fourth. "I think the market will become more and more diverse, (America) will face competition from other English-speaking countries and Asian countries," she said.
Shift
UK universities are actively responding to this shift. Professors from highly ranked universities, including the London School of Economics and King's College London, are using social media to reach out to concerned students and highlight the UK as an alternative destination for postgraduate study. Paolo Aversa, professor of strategy at King's Business School, King's College London, who has himself studied in the US, and understands what is at stake for students.
"I thought about how problematic it would be if my visa was denied or interrupted for the duration of my stay," he says. "It can be complicated for a student embarking on a multi-year research career to change institutions, to change countries," he says. A gathering of graduates at the commencement ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2025/Rick Friedman/AFP Aversa says the UK has long welcomed international talent and that stability could now become a deciding factor for many students. "I think diversity is very important in interdisciplinary research, and at King's we're working with the medical school, bringing together business, artificial intelligence and many other fields with health and social impact, so the diversity of the environment allows us to approach the world's problems in an open way, and that's something we're keen to continue," he says.
Avertsa believes that at top UK universities, students could find a similar experience to what they would get at Harvard or other American schools. "In general, the path that a PhD student would take at Harvard or King's would be somewhat comparable, I think we both care a lot about research, we care about impact, we care about diversity," he says. "Especially for researchers who are looking at the PhD as an entry point to their academic career, being in a country that might create obstacles later on could also be an opportunity to think about where to start that journey," says Aversa.
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