American interest in Irish higher education centres surged 63pc in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest growth for any destination among US residents
Trump’s administration has piled pressure on US universities, threatening them with federal funding cuts over issues like pro-Palestinian protests, diversity, equity and inclusion, climate initiatives, and transgender rights.
Among the universities the US government has targeted is Harvard, with the administration recently announcing a formal review of nearly $9bn (€8bn) in federal contracts and grants for the institution.
Since Trump came to power in January, interest from US students in on-campus Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in Ireland – at locations including Trinity College Dublin – rose by 63pc in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
The finding came from data produced by Studyportals, a global student search platform that tracks users’ page-views to gauge course preferences.
Archie Pollock, co-director of the Studyportals analytics and consulting team, said this was the highest growth recorded for any destination among US students.
Ireland was now the sixth-largest EU market for US students.
The growth in US student interest in Ireland was ahead of other EU countries, including Germany (+5.7pc), Italy (-9.1pc), the Netherlands (-3.5pc), France (+16.3pc), and Spain (+19.2pc). As for the UK, US demand grew by 16.6pc for Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024.
Looking just at March, US demand for Ireland remained strong with a 56.6pc increase – again, the largest growth in the EU.
For comparison, Germany saw +11.9pc, Italy -4.4pc, the Netherlands +2.2pc, France +14.7pc, and Spain +29.9pc. The UK also trailed Ireland, with interest up 20.4pc in March.
Last month, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) urged students to be “cautious” about the potential risks involved in “activism” while on a J1 visa in the United States this summer.
Thousands of Irish students participate in the visa programme each year.
The USI said that activism includes participating in peaceful protests or demonstrations, sharing opinions and information on social media platforms, joining or forming advocacy groups, and, displaying symbols or messages.
Despite the issues in the US, Pollock said demand from Irish students for US universities had actually been “steadily growing since September 2023”.
The trend showed “no signs of slowing despite headwinds for the US”.
According to the data, interest from Irish students seeking study opportunities in the US grew significantly, up 48pc in Q1 2025 compared to the same period last year.
This compares to a 20pc global decline in interest in the US over the same period, said Pollock.
The number of international students enrolled in Irish higher education reached a new record high of 40,400 in the 2023/24 academic year.
US students made up 14pc of those coming to study in Ireland, behind only India, which had 17.5pc.
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