Georgetown University and a flagship federal cybersecurity scholarship program are both facing unprecedented financial and operational headwinds as federal budget cuts, workforce reductions, and shifting immigration policies reshape the landscape of higher education and public service careers in the United States. The ripple effects of these changes are leaving students, faculty, and administrators scrambling to adapt, and raising urgent questions about the nation’s future capacity to innovate and defend itself in a digital age.
On October 28, 2025, Georgetown’s Interim University President Robert M. Groves delivered a sobering update to faculty and staff: the university is now forecasted to lose $35 million in federal research grants this fiscal year, a blow compounded by a steep 20% decline in international graduate student enrollment. According to Groves, these losses are directly tied to sweeping federal funding cuts and new visa and immigration policies introduced by the Trump administration. The latter have contributed to a sharper-than-expected drop in international students, with numbers falling from around 2,170 in Fall 2024 to just over 1,780 for Fall 2025.
“It is now certain that the $100M cut in April was prudent,” Groves wrote in his email, referencing the university’s earlier decision to slash its Fiscal Year 2026 budget and impose a hiring freeze. But he made clear that the situation remains highly fluid: “Many uncertainties remain. Thus, it’s too early to know the outcome of the December review — whether we could relieve some of the constraints on spending or whether more cuts will be needed.”
The university’s overall graduate enrollment is down 3%, a smaller drop than some feared, thanks in part to tuition discounts offered to laid-off federal workers and recent alumni. Still, Groves acknowledged that these measures come at a cost: “There was some success in our offering tuition discounts to some laid-off federal workers and recent Georgetown alumni, but that means reduced revenue per student.” Some programs have shifted to online classes to accommodate students with delayed visas, but Groves cautioned that “great uncertainty remains about whether there will be a multi-year reduction in international students.”
Georgetown’s financial woes are further exacerbated by the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has delayed the disbursement of research funding and disrupted grant proposals. According to an October 1 email from Katy Button, the university’s associate vice president for federal government relations, the shutdown has also limited access to critical federal resources. While student aid and international student support are expected to remain stable in the short term, the broader impacts on research and operations are significant.
Another looming challenge is the federal government’s decision to end GradPLUS loans — a key source of graduate student aid — for new applicants starting July 1, 2026. GradPLUS loans accounted for 32% of graduate loan disbursements in 2023, with 16% of students relying on them. In high-cost programs, such as many at Georgetown, that figure rises to 30%. “GradPLUS loan features will end in July 2026,” Groves confirmed. “That is certain. The office of the Chief Financial Officer is actively working on alternative mitigations for the change in the loan programs. However, the effect of this change on graduate applications for Fall 2026 remains unknown.”
Despite these mounting pressures, Groves emphasized that targeted cuts and freezes since April have helped Georgetown avoid the mass layoffs seen at peer institutions. “I know that the mitigation actions of April (e.g., pausing of merit increases, hiring freezes) are painful,” he wrote. “We remain deeply grateful for your patience. It is important to acknowledge that the shared sacrifices we are making are essential to securing the University’s financial stability.”
Meanwhile, the federal government’s flagship cybersecurity talent pipeline is facing its own crisis. The CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program, established in 2000 to train and place top students in government cybersecurity roles, has been hobbled by hiring freezes, job offer cancellations, and the cancellation of its annual career fair, according to reporting by Nextgov/FCW. The program, which provides tuition and stipends to students in exchange for a commitment to serve in government roles after graduation, has long been a critical channel for recruiting technical expertise into public service.
But since February 2025, CyberCorps recruits have received notice after notice rescinding job offers from agencies such as NASA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Defense Contract Management Agency. The annual in-person career fair, a linchpin for matching students with federal employers, was cancelled this year, with some virtual events also scrapped. The changes come as the Trump administration has moved to shrink and restructure the federal workforce, with significant knock-on effects for the cybersecurity sector.
For students, the stakes are high and deeply personal. The scholarship terms require graduates to secure a qualifying government job within 18 months, or else their scholarship converts into a loan — sometimes exceeding $100,000 — that must be repaid. “I already have over $100k of undergrad debt. I don’t really feel keen on taking on another $150k that I hadn’t planned on and didn’t consent to,” one Indiana University student told Nextgov/FCW. “I still believe in protecting critical infrastructure, obviously, but I don’t want to ever work for the government again.”
Many CyberCorps scholars, like a University of Central Florida student whose capstone project focused on ransomware, have seen their government internships and job offers evaporate. “We’re getting massacred out there. I don’t really understand why we’re cutting cybersecurity at a moment when we need it most,” she said. Mentors and managers in agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have been terminated or left, further eroding the support network students rely on for federal placement.
The impact goes beyond individual hardship. As a former White House official told Nextgov/FCW, “This is a very competitive program, and right now, we might lose this talent. But the long-term implication is that we might not be able to attract the best talent in the world in the future.”
In response, hundreds of CyberCorps scholars have begun organizing, seeking legal assistance and appealing to Congress for help. Representative James Walkinshaw, D-Va., said in an email, “The effect of these hiring freezes on CyberCorps scholarship recipients, whose talent is urgently needed to protect our nation’s infrastructure and whose scholarships depend on federal placement after graduation, is another example of the administration prioritizing political theatre over national security.” He added, “Saddling them with debt and uncertainty does not make government more efficient, it makes our nation less safe.”
For now, students are exploring every option — from seeking 12-month extensions and considering state or local government roles, to contemplating further education or even private sector work to pay off looming debts. Program administrators have advised students to “get creative” in their job searches, but also reminded them that contractor roles do not fulfill their scholarship obligations.
As both Georgetown University and the CyberCorps program brace for the next round of federal decisions, the stakes could hardly be higher. The choices made in the coming months will shape not only the future of these institutions, but the nation’s ability to educate, innovate, and defend itself in an increasingly perilous world.
