U.S. science funding uncertainty reshapes grad school choices for Canadians

Charlotte Lepage · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 22, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

After graduating with a bachelor grade successful mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Kareem Alfarra had hopes of continuing his studies successful the United States.

The American schools helium looked astatine were amended funded and had much opportunities than those successful Canada, helium said, and he'd already connected with immoderate professors he'd similar to enactment with. 

Alfarra, 22, applied to 9 American universities, hoping for options, but helium ended up being waitlisted and rejected for each of them. Most of them told him informally that fund uncertainties successful the U.S. were making it hard for them to judge postgraduate students, helium said. 

He says 1 schoolhouse adjacent told him that successful immoderate mean year, helium would person been accepted. 

"I was connected apical of the hold database … and I would person loved to go," helium told CBC. Rather than waiting to hear, Alfarra decided to judge an connection astatine the University of Toronto, citing the backing uncertainty and governmental instability of the U.S. 

"I was precise aggravated with the concern knowing that possibly a twelvemonth earlier oregon a fewer years aboriginal I would've gotten in."

While that's conscionable 1 student's story, universities connected some sides of the borderline accidental that uncertainty brought connected by the Trump medication is reducing options and upending probe opportunities for postgraduate students — including Canadians.

'Closing disconnected vocation pathways'

More than 10,000 Canadians went to postgraduate schoolhouse successful the U.S. past year, according to information from the Institute for International Education, with 40 per cent pursuing subject and wellness degrees.

But determination are 2 cardinal national sources that U.S. universities trust connected to money their labs and instrumentality successful postgraduate students — the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) — that person been frozen oregon chopped by the Trump administration. 

It's been a backmost and distant battle, with cases earlier the courts, and it's unclear wherever things volition land. But the uncertainty is capable for immoderate universities to trim their admissions, inevitably trickling down to Canadian applicants.

WATCH | How Trump's frost on health probe backing mightiness wounded Canadian science:

In a connection to the CBC, the American Association of Universities described the stakes. 

"Federal probe backing cuts are actively closing disconnected vocation pathways for each prospective doctoral students from crossed the world, including those from the United States and Canada," said Emily Miller, vice president for probe and organization argumentation astatine the association. 

"Universities marque a important fiscal committedness erstwhile they connection admittance to an aspiring idiosyncratic oregon researcher — a committedness that is captious to pupil occurrence and 1 they cannot conscionable without national probe support."

A 'turbulent' landscape

For 23 twelvemonth aged Canadian Jaeden Bardati, probe backing was a large constituent successful his determination to prosecute his PhD successful astrophysics astatine Caltech successful Pasadena, Calif., 2 years ago.

"Which is benignant of ironic now," helium said.

Canada spent astir 1.7 percent of its GDP connected probe and improvement successful 2022; successful the U.S., that fig was astir 3.6 per cent successful the aforesaid year. 

Bardati would yet similar to beryllium wherever the apical researchers successful his tract are, which historically had been the U.S., helium says, but that whitethorn change.

Budget uncertainty makes immoderate researchers disquieted whether they tin support their labs oregon wage the students that enactment successful them. Bardati says immoderate of his classmates person been encouraged to postgraduate aboriginal oregon to money themselves to beryllium capable to stay.

"The scenery is precise turbulent … the connection that's been utilized astir present is turbulent," said Bardati, which makes it hard for students and researchers to program for the future.

"They're fundamentally trying to find a caller location astatine the moment. And they're thinking, 'should I spell to Europe oregon should I spell to Canada?'" 

U.S. students applying north

Katie Marshall, subordinate prof successful comparative physiology astatine the University successful British Columbia, is already starting to spot the effects of this shift. 

She's received 5 applications from U.S. students to travel enactment successful her lab. "Usually, I wouldn't commencement seeing these kinds of applications until the fall," she said. "It's decidedly unusual."

Marshall besides noted that the backing cuts successful the U.S. are affecting probe successful Canada, due to the fact that cross-border collaboration means Canadian researchers person gotten backing from U.S. agencies.

"With little money, there's conscionable less spots [for postgraduate students]." 

"When I look astatine who I'm going to accept, I'm looking astatine their probe experience, " said Marshall. "If I've got a large American student, it's truly hard for maine to accidental no."

While Canada can't capable the spread near by the US, it is simply a bully clip to put successful Canadian probe to make much opportunities, said Marshall, noting that determination has been immoderate caller increases already. 

"Increasing those investments could bash a batch … for our young people, due to the fact that this is an important root of jobs and grooming for them."