Harvard University has begun cutting doctoral admissions across multiple departments as the Trump administration’s budget restrictions tighten research funding, prompting renewed debate over a potential “reverse brain drain” among Turkish academicians.
Experts say shrinking federal support and mounting visa hurdles are pushing talented students and researchers to look beyond the United States.
A recent report in The Harvard Crimson, the institution’s student newspaper, revealed that dozens of Ph.D. programs, from sciences to sociology, will see major reductions or closures due to financial pressures.
The decision is expected to reverberate across global academia, as U.S. institutions traditionally set the tone for research ecosystems worldwide.
Mehmet Furkan Burak of Harvard Medical School warned that these developments may accelerate the shift of international talent. “The budget for science is narrowing in the U.S. and other countries. Harvard is estimated to have lost between $2 billion and $8 billion in federal funding. Research groups have had to pause and international students no longer feel secure. Türkiye must be ready for reverse migration.”
Professor Elif Uysal, who returned to Türkiye after graduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford, echoed his assessments. She noted that U.S. agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have also been hit by abrupt cutbacks.
“Many faculty members did not receive expected research grants, and some approved funds were withdrawn. This certainly led to restricted graduate admissions, and top Turkish graduates received more offers from Europe and Asia this year,” she said.
Jeff Andrews, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, described a climate of “anxiety and contraction,” citing travel bans, proposed changes to tenure and a growing exodus of senior academics from the state.
Analysts say sustained reductions may challenge the U.S.’ long-held leadership in science and technology. For countries like Türkiye, however, the shift presents a rare opportunity to strengthen research capacity, improving academic career paths and offering coherent packages for education, funding and employment to attract returning scholars.
