Purdue University in Indiana is facing accusations from students and faculty that it has introduced an unofficial policy to automatically reject applications from China and other countries designated as adversary nations, including Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. The allegations follow a letter sent last year by the US House select committee on the Chinese Communist party to six universities, demanding data on Chinese students over national security concerns.
In a letter publicised on Friday, dozens of signatories urged Purdue leadership to clarify any instructions given to graduate admissions committees and to restore offers to international students whose acceptances were reportedly rescinded last year. They argued that a soft ban based on nationality would erode higher education’s core values of meritocracy, equality and academic freedom.
Purdue has denied the existence of such a ban. Spokesperson Erin Murphy said in a statement that “there is no ban”, but did not address questions about the allegations or the rescinded offers. Graduate admissions decisions are normally made by individual departments, with the university’s sign-off considered a formality.
Several international students say they received offers and funding from Purdue departments only to have them withdrawn weeks later without explanation. One student from China, who had turned down offers from three other universities, said he was shocked and described the decision as “a black box”. Another student, who had an offer from the chemistry department rescinded, later learned from a faculty member that there was an internal, verbally communicated requirement not to admit Chinese students.
The accusations come amid a broader Trump administration crackdown on international students, including the abrupt cancellation of thousands of visas and frozen research funding. Other universities have also responded to pressure from legislators; the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign told the House committee that it would wind down a series of partnerships with Chinese institutions.
