Donald Trump is five months into his second term (Alamy)
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The number of UK students showing an interest in going to university in the United States has fallen significantly in the wake of Donald Trump’s second presidency, research shared with PoliticsHome suggests.
The number of British students registering an interest in studying bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the US has fallen by more than a fifth year-on-year, according to data collected by global search platform Studyportals.
The data comes five months into Trump’s second term in the White House, amid the president’s crackdown on international students and diversity practices in US higher education.
Between January and May 2025, there were 17,791 student sessions on Studyportals, measured in pageviews, from UK students looking at universities in the US.
This is a 20.8 per cent decrease on the 22,468 registered in the same period in 2024.
Studyportals said international students around the world are “increasingly turning away from the US”.
“This is likely driven by growing concerns over restrictive immigration policies in the US, and rhetoric that threatens the global reputation and openness of US universities.”
The data also suggests that Ireland’s higher education sector is particularly benefiting from the US losing its appeal as a study destination. Interest in Ireland from students based in the US rose by 44.8 per cent year-on-year, with pageviews rising from 13,865 to 20,072.
A spokesperson for Studyportals said that Ireland’s “English-speaking environment, strong academic reputation, and historic and cultural ties it shares with the United States make it an attractive option for American students”.
The Studyportal research also found a significant uptick in US student interest in British universities in the first few months of the year.
The data showed that between January and March 2025, there was a 16.3 per cent increase in prospective US students’ pageviews of UK courses compared to 2024.
However, this trend slowed down in May, meaning that when taken together, US student interest in UK courses between January and May was up by 1.2 per cent from the previous year.
It was in May when the Labour government announced new restrictions on British universities recruiting students from overseas.
As part of an overall drive to reduce net migration, the Home Office said it would tighten visa rules and look at imposing a levy on international student income.
Labour MPs in constituencies with high student populations raised the alarm over the potential impact on UK higher education institutions.
