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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Harvard professor Jeremy Faust said he recently told a student considering going to graduate school to "look overseas."
Faust, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School, made the comment to MSNBC's Nicole Wallace on Friday—when a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from cutting off Harvard's enrollment of foreign students.
Faust told Newsweek that "nobody will want to come here or stay if grants are at risk of being suddenly terminated because they contain a few words that this administration is afraid of, or because of vendettas against certain highly productive institutions that will cause intellectual centers to be undermined."
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He clarified the person he was speaking to was "not exactly" a "'prospective graduate' student" at Harvard, and that he was "thinking of two instances" where he said something similar to "individuals thinking about going into the sciences" during informal interactions.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration's fight with Harvard and other elite universities has raised questions about an academic brain drain and whether it will push America's brightest students to study abroad.
Meanwhile, foreign universities have spotted an opportunity, with two universities in Hong Kong extending offers to Harvard's affected international students.
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What To Know
On MSNBC, Wallace asked Faust about the conversations he is having with colleagues as well as "international students or prospective students."
"How do you talk about or explain or what assurances can you even give them about the two pieces that you just mentioned: either the guarantees for federal funding from NIH, or two, the protections in terms of visas and enrollment for foreign students?" Wallace asked.
"Well, I can speak to the first one very clearly," Faust said.
"Which is that we're fighting. We're really fighting for this. We believe in this and we want to make the case to everybody that we are actually fighting for something that matters, not to some eggheads in the ivory tower, but to people who just are alive because of a chemotherapy breakthrough or because of a vaccine that was invented here."
Moments later, he said that he does tell students that they have to "think ahead."
And he said that he had recently advised a student thinking about going to graduate school at Harvard to look into enrolling at an institution outside of the United States.
"I did hear the words come out of my mouth recently for the first time that said, to a student thinking about going into graduate school for the sciences, well, you should look overseas," he said. "I never thought I'd say that."
Wallace responded to his answer with a "wow."
In comments to Newsweek, Faust clarified that that advice was "not exactly to a 'prospective graduate' student."
He sad: "I don't run a lab and I'm not a grant funded researcher… In my comments on MSNBC, I was thinking of two instances in which I said something along those lines to individuals thinking about going into the sciences. These were informal interactions." He added that he was "not walking the statement back at all" but did not want to "misrepresent things either."
What People Are Saying
Faust told Newsweek: "I hope the United States remains the leader in scientific research but it's going to be difficult if things continue like this. The reason we develop and retain emerging scientists and also attract the best talent from elsewhere is our investments in science and academic freedom. That's it. It's not magic. It's simply the rational outcome of our brilliant, if funky and imperfect, system. The stability of that system is being undermined like never before."
Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement to Newsweek on Friday: "The government's action is unlawful. We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University—and this nation—immeasurably."
Newton added: "This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission."
Harvard president Alan Garber said in a message to the Harvard community after the judge's ruling: "This is a critical step to protect the rights and opportunities of our international students and scholars, who are vital to the University's mission and community. Many among us are likely to have additional concerns and questions. Important updates and guidance will continue to be provided by the Harvard International Office as they become available."
President Donald Trump demanded the names of Harvard's foreign students in a Truth Social post on Sunday, writing: "Why isn't Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the United States, pay NOTHING toward their student's education, nor do they ever intend to.
"Nobody told us that! We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn't exactly forthcoming."
What's Next
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs granted Harvard's motion for a temporary restraining order on Friday, blocking the administration from barring the university's foreign enrollments.
Burroughs has scheduled a status hearing on May 27 and another hearing on May 29 on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
Update 5/25/25, 11:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from Jeremy Faust.
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