In the last year, Trump’s administration has restricted visas. Specifically, the United States capped student visas at four years, which means students who are in longer programmes must file for an extension. There are travel bans on international students and faculty from a certain group of countries.

There are reports that more than 90 percent of student visa applications were rejected. In addition, the administration allowed the expiration of designations for those who come from countries in crisis and had permission to work more hours and take fewer classes. The United States also made it more challenging for those with F-1 visas to transfer from one university to another without intense review.

This is not to mention the dramatic changes to the H1-B visa program, in which employers sponsor foreign workers with specialisations and higher degrees to work in the United States after graduation. The administration attempted to charge applicants $100,000 until a judge struck down the fee for being an illegal tax.

Applicants must consider the prohibitive costs and whether they will be able to take advantage of the Stateside network and recruiting help that their school provides. This problem is even starker for graduate students. Taking all these factors into consideration makes people reluctant to pursue education in the United States.

A black cloud over research

Most importantly, perceptions have soured for people coming from abroad. The administration’s approach to immigrants is giving people pause.

A telling factor is the data on Citations per Faculty in the 2027 rankings. Only three of the 19 universities either retained their rank or improved – Harvard, which remained in the same position, Princeton, which improved two places, and Carnegie Mellon University, which improved five.

Thirteen universities saw a drop in both ranking and score in the Citations per Faculty indicator – in one instance, an institution dropped 108 places and lost more than 17 points in the indicator, the largest loss of score for any of the institutions in this list.

Eight also had a drop in their International Research Network (IRN) ranking with the University of Chicago’s loss of 81 places and Princeton’s drop of 66 being the most notable. Interestingly, however, while eight institutions dropped their position within the IRN, only four decreased their score, indicating the increased external competition.

Indeed, US international scholar growth plummeted from 10 percent to 3.5 percent, according to the international education network NAFSA, which was previously reported by QS Insights.

Keen observers can connect these government policies to these results. Funding cuts and freezes are making it challenging for academics to pursue the kind of research that leads to innovation. Since the end of World War II, the United States has supported research, particularly in science and technology as a means of continuously boosting its economy and maintaining a competitive advantage. The Brennan Center says that the Trump administration “upended” these policies. Among the most recent news on this front is that the administration is dismantling the National Science Foundation.

The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and smaller budgets for various departments responsible for discovery meant the end of funding for many global research projects.

These steps put researchers in other parts of the world on notice. For them, it meant that the United States could no longer be relied on for partnerships. It also signalled an opportunity for others to make their own mark. For instance, Canada is trying to lure scholars with billion-dollar recruitment initiatives. As reported by QS Insights, the United States can turn things around by “restoring funding stability, simplifying visas, and prioritising international collaboration to protect its research capacity”.

An erosion of reputation

This shift is reportedly impacting everything from research partnerships to student exchanges. While the United States is still a leader in academia, these policies are making people question their influence moving forward. In fact, the two data points on reputation are telling.

Eight of the 19 US universities dropped rank in the Academic Reputation indicator with Duke University down 10. Only two universities improved and by small margins – New York University up one place and Brown Universities up four. Five of the universities dropped in employer reputation.

The rankings show that the world is starting to see the United States differently. Its current policy environment is dampening sentiment on what was previously seen as the gold standard of research and innovation, a place where scholars were free to test their ideas and students from around the world could come to benefit from the ensuing opportunities.

The QS World University Rankings 2027 paints a picture of a nation’s higher education sector in decline. This comes after years of people questioning the return on investment of US universities.

Policies regarding visas, research funding, and scholarships are threatening to dethrone the United States as the top destination for higher education and research.