Trump’s crackdown on ‘woke’ universities has little impact on which big-hitters are jostling for the top spots in higher education.
It has been a tough year for universities in America. A key battleground for culture war hostilities, many of the U.S.’s elite institutions have been threatened by the Trump administration with funding cuts, prevented from enrolling international students, accused of accepting antisemitism, and forced to agree to specific policies, for example, on transgender people in sports.
Amid the chaos, the annual university rankings, published by U.S. News & World Report, reveal that despite enormous uncertainty, some things don’t change that much.
Princeton, MIT, and Harvard were named the top three institutions in the country. Stanford and Yale tied in fourth place, and the University of Chicago came in sixth.
While the value and methodology of U.S. News & World Report’s rankings – and those provided by others – is routinely picked over, The New York Times notes that there is a begrudging acceptance in the higher education realm that Americans relish rankings, so there is enough support from institutions to keep the system alive – even if it only reflects particular criteria and priorities of those who design the ranking formulae.
U.S. News & World Report said “the rankings emphasize student outcomes, academic resources and reputation”, and added: “This transparent, rigorous methodology offers a foundation for navigating the complex landscape of higher education.”
Princeton, named as the top university on the list, is rolling out a new round of cost-cutting measures in response to economic pressures and federal funding reductions under the Trump administration.
Departments are scaling back perks like free food and merchandise, trimming campus operating hours, and cancelling winter break programming for students and staff, according to recent reports.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a global leader in science and engineering and second in the rankings, is bracing for “significant new financial pressures” amid rising endowment taxes and uncertainty over federal research funding due to government pressures. This month, the school said these challenges could impact its long-term planning and investment in innovation.
Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S. and the third-ranked institution, is locked in a high-stakes clash with the Trump administration over its tax-exempt status, federal research funding, foreign student enrollment, and intellectual property.
Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked the administration’s attempt to freeze more than $2 billion in Harvard’s research grants, ruling the move illegal.
Stanford University, joint fourth in the rankings and one of the nation’s top private research institutions, is laying off hundreds of employees in response to “changes in federal policy” under the Trump administration.
The university confirmed last month that 363 staff members across administration, research, alumni relations, and campus operations were affected.
Yale University, ranked joint fourth with Stanford, is one of the few Ivy League schools to have avoided direct federal funding cuts. It has nonetheless come under scrutiny. In March, the Department of Education opened an investigation into alleged antisemitism on campus during pro-Palestinian demonstrations and events, following a discrimination complaint filed by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League.
The government has launched legal challenges and moved to restrict billions in federal funding in an effort to steer university policy nationwide. Targets include diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, LGBTQ+ programs, immigration policy, leadership appointments, and academic curricula.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump said universities “have been infested with radicalism like never before”, amid efforts to crack down on student pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid Israel’s assault on Gaza. The White House set out cuts to “woke programs,” which it deemed as having “ideologies that poison the minds of Americans”.
Here are U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 U.S. national universities
1 Princeton University
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3 Harvard University
=4 Stanford University
=4 Yale University
6 University of Chicago
=7 Duke University
=7 Johns Hopkins University
=7 Northwestern University
=7 University of Pennsylvania
