Funding for International Education Terminated

The Department of Education sent notices of non-continuation to all Title VI International Education grant recipients calling the grants “inconsistent with Administration priorities and do not advance American interests or values.”  

The combined $86 million in FY 2025 funding has been reallocated to fund a one-time additional investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities.   

The Title VI International Education grants being terminated provide resources for National Resource Centers, Foreign Language and Area Studies Programs, Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs, International Research and Studies, Centers for International Business Education, Language Resource Centers, and American Overseas Research Centers. Dozens of private, nonprofit colleges and universities participate in International Education across all programs.  

The notice gives institutions one week to request a reconsideration of the non-continuation decision but emphasizes that the funds have already been redistributed.  

Congress funded Title VI International Education programs through the FY 2025 continuing resolution at FY 2024 funding levels. For FY 2026, President Trump’s budget did not request funding for Title VI, nor did the House FY 2026 appropriations bill, though the Senate FY 2026 appropriations bill included funding at $81 million for the grants.  

The International Education programs originated in the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and were then incorporated into the Higher Education Act of 1965. Since their inception, these programs maintained bipartisan support as the nation’s foundational programs for international education, research, and foreign language studies. They are particularly important for instruction in the less-commonly taught languages and world areas that hold special strategic interest for our national defense, diplomatic presence around the world, and global economic competitiveness.