Pentagon cuts Harvard academic ties amid ideological and China-related concerns
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The Defense Department issued guidance that could bar active-duty tuition assistance for graduate programs at many top private universities beginning in the 2026–27 academic year, creating wide uncertainty for applicants and accepted students. Separately, the Pentagon has already moved to end formal academic collaboration with Harvard—allowing current students to finish terms—citing concerns about institutional dynamics and foreign-linked funding (reporting has identified roughly $560 million in China-related gifts and contracts to Harvard), which underscores how the new guidance may be applied in practice.
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