Georgetown University is projected to lose $17 million in international graduate student tuition and face declines in graduate student applications, according to a Nov. 24 email to faculty and staff.
Interim University President Robert M. Groves cited federal cuts to higher education funding and changing immigration policies impacting graduate enrollment in the email. The updates come about a month after Groves announced the university is forecasted to lose $35 million in research funding, a figure he affirmed in Monday’s message, and faces a 20% decline in international graduate student enrollment.
Groves said the decrease in graduate tuition revenue is greater than expected and is the result of changing immigration policy.
“We have experienced new declines in graduate tuition revenue, although this outcome is not uniform across all graduate programs,” Groves wrote in the email. “This trend is driven by a combination of new visa and immigration policies and broader economic pressures facing prospective graduate and international students. Our current projection of a $17 million loss in international graduate tuition revenue is greater than we anticipated in the initial budget for this year.”
The university will hold town halls for faculty and staff Dec. 9 at both the Hilltop and Capitol Campuses. The Monday update was part of Groves’ promise to faculty in September to deliver monthly updates on the state of university finances until December, when the budget cuts are scheduled to be reconsidered.
Georgetown has faced increasing federal pressure as President Donald Trump ramps up attacks on higher education institutions, including cutting research funding and restricting international students’ visas. About 1,780 international graduate students are enrolled at Georgetown for Fall 2025, according to university data, a decrease from around 2,170 in Fall 2024.
Congress also recently ended GradPLUS loans, a federally managed student aid service for graduate students that will stop accepting new applicants July 1, 2026. Groves cited the program’s closing as a point of concern in October.
Groves said Monday that losing GradPLUS loans has already affected some graduate programs, forcing the university to look for private funding.
“We are starting to see early indicators that the constraints on GradPLUS loans are reducing applications to some of our graduate programs for fall 2026,” Groves wrote. “We are actively investigating private sector student loans as a substitute for our students.”
Groves added that the university has faced mounting legal costs as a result of federal probes, though he did not specify the scope of the inquiries.
“We continue to face sharp increases in utility expenses (nearly 15% increase from the initial budget) and escalating legal costs required to address ongoing federal inquiries,” Groves wrote.
Groves also reaffirmed the university’s budget cuts announced in April, which cut $100 million from the university’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget and instituted a hiring freeze.
Groves said he appreciates faculty and staff’s work and will include more updates during the Dec. 9 town halls.
“Thank you for your continued resilience, patience and partnership as we navigate this period together,” Groves wrote. “I remain deeply grateful for the dedication you bring to your job every day.”
