Many Fulbright scholars say they feel stranded after the Trump administration suspended their funding
By: Alison Patton | David Forster
Posted on:
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – When an Ohio University international student woke up last Friday, he was expecting to see a deposit in his bank account, but he found an email in his inbox instead.
Now, he’s scrambling to find money for rent, groceries and other living expenses – things that would normally be covered under the stipend he receives every month from his scholarship agency.
The student is among thousands of people participating in one of the scholarship programs administered through the U.S. State Department who learned last week their funding has been frozen indefinitely.
This includes U.S. and international students in the Fulbright program, one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.
“It’s just the time where everybody’s just scared, like we don’t know what’s going to happen next,” said the OU student, John. This is not the student’s real name. He asked to remain anonymous because he receives a scholarship that is restrictive on what he can say. WOUB has verified his identity.
WOUB reached out to other students in affected scholarship programs but was told they had been informed not to talk to the media about the funding situation.
The freeze was first imposed in mid-February and was supposed to last 15 days, which would have ended Feb. 27, but instead students received an email informing them the funding pause would continue until further notice.
“We’re still in that vacuum space where we don’t know exactly what’s going on, you know, and everybody’s just waiting blindly,” John said.
WOUB reached out to the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which oversees the affected study abroad and exchange programs, to get more information about how many people are affected by the funding freeze and when it might be lifted, but did not receive a response by the time this story was published.
Who is affected by this?
The State Department funds several scholarships that allow international students to come to the U.S. and for U.S. students to study abroad. Along with the Fulbright, this includes the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which helps lower-income students study or intern overseas; the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, which brings experienced professionals from other countries to study in the U.S.; and the Mandela Washington Fellowship, which brings young African leaders to the U.S. for academic and leadership training.
Why the funds were frozen and for how long isn’t clear, said Rachel Banks, the senior director for policy at NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
However, Banks said, the Trump administration’s instructions to do a top-down review of agencies and the executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion could potentially be contributing to the pause.
After the email went out last Friday, several students posted about the situation on an online forum for Fulbright scholars. Some said their universities were helping them cover their costs, at least temporarily.
Ohio University spokesperson Dan Pittman said the university is keeping an eye on the situation.
“We recognize the reality that the evolving federal and state legal landscape might be creating concern amongst some of our international student and scholar community,” Pittman wrote in an email.
He said university offices that work with international students have reached out to those who have been or could be affected to remind them of resources available on campus.
An OU student is unsure what comes next
The situation has put John, like many international students, between a rock and hard place.
“We’ve been here for two years, and the only community we know, it’s here in Athens,” he said.
He’s anxious about going home because as he was returning to the U.S. for spring semester, he got stopped at the airport with less than an hour until he was supposed to board his flight.
“When I was coming back – like at the home airport, that is, my country – there were a lot of changes because they received orders that they have to have every student returning to buy a return ticket in advance,” John said.
He was able to reason his way out of buying a return ticket and made his flight in time, but the thought of leaving America with the possibility of not coming back is scary.
John said going home without a degree and not being able to come back and finish it would mean all his work amounted to nothing.
Luckily, his wife is working part time, and he hopes the money she brings home will be enough to help them cover expenses.
John can’t take a job even if he wanted to because of restrictions in his scholarship program. His family can only help out so much because any money they send isn’t worth much once it’s converted into U.S. currency because of the exchange rate.
Many are holding off on travel plans
Scholarship participants throughout the United States are facing a similar situation.
The Ohio State University has 24 students and six faculty currently abroad, and 36 international students and six international scholars at OSU through various Fulbright scholarships. Two OSU students who received a Gilman scholarship are scheduled to study abroad this summer.
As of Wednesday, OSU was aware of 16 students who had been informed their funding is paused, according to a university spokesperson. Because funding for these scholarships comes from the State Department, it’s possible all the students and faculty are affected.
Some U.S. students and faculty posted overseas may be receiving a portion of their funding through a host university or some other organization, in which case that portion may not be affected, Banks said.
The situation has drawn students to a Reddit forum for Fulbright scholars, where one student posted a screenshot of the email they received. In the email, the scholarship agency said it will only provide a portion of the student’s next stipend payment and would update the student about future payments as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, U.S. students who have been awarded a Fulbright or other scholarship funded through the State Department, but haven’t yet left for their post country, are being told to hold off making travel plans.
Banks said Congress authorized the funds for these programs, and it should pressure the State Department to spend them.
“Our advocates need to send that message to Congress to say you’ve appropriated funds, you support these programs. We need you to defend,” Banks said.
These aren’t the only affected scholarships
Scholarships funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development are also being affected by federal spending cuts.
“I would say first a couple of hours, I couldn’t think anything. I feel like numb. I do not know what to do,” said Paul, another international student who requested anonymity out of concern he might face retaliation from the federal government.
He received an email instead of his stipend on Feb. 1, which he would’ve used to pay for rent, groceries and other living necessities.
Paul said he spoke with his adviser at the university’s International Student and Scholar Services for support.
“She told me that she won’t let me go without graduating on her watch,” he said.
Within 48 hours of the email being sent, the university stepped in and waived his tuition and gave him a graduate assistantship, which allows him to work for his stipend.
Paul said he almost cried when he heard the level of support he received from Ohio University.
“The emotion was so raw at this point. I was, at one point, I was really hopeful, and the next I was, I was really devastated,” Paul said.
Speaking out is difficult for Fulbright scholars
It’s hard for international students to speak out, especially when they are under contract and the uncertainty with the Trump administration.
“Because, as I said, we are under scholarship, it’s hard for us to maybe raise our voices,” John said.
Both students expressed how grateful they are to study in America.
Paul said he doesn’t want to go home because of civil war in his home country. If he does, he could be subjected to the draft. He would then be fighting in a war he doesn’t want to have.
“With everything happening in my country and the things I have been going through here, I cannot think really vividly what my future looks like,” Paul said.
John doesn’t want to go home because there isn’t a school for what he’s studying.
“People here in America, you are so privileged, to be honest,” John said. “Most Americans, they don’t know that they have privileges in terms of just being here and having a good education.”
For many of these students, it’s also more than just an education.
“You’re going to bridge the gap between maybe, knowledge between here and parts of the world,” John said. “I’m not just looking at impacting stories in my country, but I’m looking at the whole continent.”
(Editor’s note 3/8/25: A previous version of this story had a photo of one of our anonymous sources without their face. The source requested that we remove the photo after being recognized.)