These Colleges and Universities Are Cutting Costs Over Federal Funding Freezes

Margaret AttridgeElin Johnson
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Updated on April 17, 2025
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Colleges and universities across the country have frozen hiring, rescinded student offer letters, and cut programs due to federal funding cuts.
Brown University campus in Providence, Rhode Island, on a sunny fall day.Credit: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
  • The Trump administration has made moves to pause National Institutes of Health research and other federal funding that many colleges and universities rely on.
  • Colleges and universities across the country are scrambling to patch the holes in their budgets left by the frozen funds.
  • The administration has also threatened to withhold funds from institutions that practice DEI, have allegations of antisemitism, or allow transgender athletes to compete.

On the campaign trail, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump promised the American people he would rein in U.S. colleges and universities and even eliminate the Department of Education (ED).

His first few months in office were a flurry of executive orders, some of which stalled or halted federal funding to colleges and universities.

On Jan. 27, the Office of Management and Budget released a memo outlining a freeze on federal grants. Two days later, the memo was rescinded.

The memo announced the Trump administration’s temporary pause of funding to federal agencies’ grant, loan, and financial assistance programs as it reviewed how federal money was being spent.

A freeze on National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and grants, for example, would affect medical and science research. NIH funding and grants support research at many colleges and universities across the country. This, along with Trump’s executive orders, caused confusion on U.S. campuses over what research could be pursued.

Additionally, some research projects and grants were cut because their names and titles included words or topics the administration considered to fall under diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

While judges have temporarily blocked some funding freezes, states are suing over other cuts.

This whirlwind of freezing and thawing funding has left higher education confused. Many colleges and universities have lost funding they relied on for research, graduate student support, and staffing departments.

Some colleges and universities face warnings and investigations that could impact the future of their federal funding.

The Department of Education has warned 60 colleges and universities that they might lose funding over claims of antisemitism. Another 52 are being investigated for alleged racial discrimination, part of the Trump administration’s efforts to end DEI practices on campus.

While many schools face uncertainty about the state of their federal funding, it’s important to note that some budget reductions in 2025 may not stem directly from the disappearance of the funds.

Instead, they may result from a precarious higher education ecosystem, low post-pandemic enrollment numbers, and a looming enrollment cliff.

Federal Funding Cancellations

Universities across the country have had federal research and partnering funding frozen, some being told it was over allegations of antisemitism and some over the inclusion of transgender athletes.

The University of Maine briefly lost Department of Agriculture funding over the state not complying with a Trump executive order outlining restrictions for transgender athletes. Funding was reinstated after Maine’s congressional representatives got involved.

The University of Michigan released a statement saying it would take proactive measures to tighten its budget, including reviewing hiring, limiting nonessential expenditures, and reexamining capital spending after the federal government ceased funding its multimillion-dollar research project.

Other universities that have had federal funding frozen include:

  • Brown University had $510 million frozen over allegations of failing to address antisemitism, announced on April 3.
  • Columbia University had $400 million canceled. On March 13, the administration sent a letter to Columbia outlining a list of demands the university had to meet to earn back its financial funding. The deadline to meet these demands was March 20, by which time Columbia had acquiesced to most of these demands.
  • Cornell University had over $1 billion frozen on April 8.
  • Harvard University had over $2 billion in federal funding pulled on April 14 after the Ivy League university said it would reject demands set forth by the Trump administration on April 11. Citing an effort to combat antisemitism, the Trump administration threatened to withhold grant and research funding if the university didn’t change its admissions and hiring processes, student discipline, and certain areas of study.
  • Johns Hopkins University experienced $800 million in cuts from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provided grants to the school, announced March 4.
  • Northwestern University had $790 million frozen on April 8.
  • Princeton University had dozens of federal grants revoked at the beginning of April, resulting in a $210 million shortfall.
  • The University of Pennsylvania had $175 million frozen over allowing a transgender athlete to participate on the women’s swim team. Announced March 19.

The following list includes U.S. colleges and universities that have attributed budget cuts to federal funding challenges. Schools are categorized by the types of cuts they have made, including hiring freezes, layoffs, and impacts on graduate students.

Impacts on Graduate Students

Hiring Freezes

Layoffs

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