Trump administration's changing visa policies have caused a sharp drop in international applications to Columbia University and contributed to the university pausing admissions to one of its top journalism programmes, four people familiar with the matter said.
The journalism school announced on Thursday it was pausing admissions to its Master of Arts offering to conduct a "critical evaluation," without giving further details about the reasons.
Jelani Cobb, the journalism school's dean, said admissions to its Master of Arts programme would pause for one year while the school reworked a degree created in 2005, when the "journalism marketplace looked different."
"The dynamics of visas and all those other kinds of things were part of the consideration," Cobb told Reuters.
Additionally, the department needs time to think through changes to the programme, he added.
The connection between the admissions pause and US visa policies has not been previously reported, nor has the length of the admissions pause.
The drop in international applications shows how uncertainty over the Trump administration's visa policies is affecting one of the preeminent US journalism institutions, which also administers the profession's highest US honour, the Pulitzer Prize. The people did not disclose the exact size of the drop.
Last year, the Trump administration temporarily halted new student-visa appointments, then resumed them with expanded screening of applicants' online activity, saying the checks were needed to identify potential threats to US national security.
Reliance on international students
Columbia was among the universities targeted by his administration over pro-Palestinian campus protests in 2024.
Last year, it agreed to pay over $200 million to settle federal investigations and regain most of its suspended federal funding.
A new rule this year also sought to limit how long foreign students and journalists could stay in the US without seeking extensions, but a federal judge blocked it before it took effect last month, calling its rationale "exceptionally weak."
Visa difficulties and immigration policy uncertainty have deterred prospective Columbia journalism students from abroad, the four people said, who asked to remain anonymous while discussing the admissions process.
International students make up roughly half of the MA programme's enrollment, the people said.
Lower enrollment has prompted changes to the MA programme, including combining science and politics seminars in the 2024-25 academic year, two people familiar with the matter said.
