DOJ Probing Harvard Over Financial Aid Programs Linked to China-Based Sources

The Justice Department (DOJ) said on July 20 that it was investigating whether Harvard University violated Title VI by excluding American students from financial aid programs funded by China-based sources.

The DOJ announced that Harvard’s foreign funding disclosures raised concerns about its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin.

Universities are required by federal law to report gifts and contracts from foreign sources that exceed $250,000 in a year. Harvard had disclosed nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding, of which $630 million came from sources based in China—the university’s largest source of foreign funding—the department said.

According to the DOJ, Harvard appears to accept funds from China-based sources that require the university to establish financial aid programs “with preference given to students from particular countries.”

“Schools cannot take federal dollars and then turn around and accept money from foreign sources to give financial aid that deliberately excludes American citizens—doing so is illegal, and we will stop it wherever we find it,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in the statement.

The department said it notified Harvard of its compliance review through a notice letter but emphasized that it has not reached any conclusions about the investigation.

Dhillon said in the letter that the investigation would focus on “possible national origin discrimination” in Harvard’s student aid and benefits arising from “restrictions in grants and gifts received by Harvard from foreign funding sources.”

Harvard said in a statement to news outlets that it was reviewing the DOJ’s notice.

“Harvard follows the law for required reporting of donations and, consistent with our legal obligations under Title VI, does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in allocating financial aid,” the university said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said that education cooperation between the two nations is mutually beneficial.

The Ivy League university has been at the center of broader federal efforts to enforce anti-discrimination laws under Title VI. Last year, federal officials opened an investigation into reports that the Harvard Law Review employed “race-based criteria” for its journal membership and article selection process.

In March, the Education Department launched two probes into Harvard, one to determine whether the university used race-based preferences in its admissions process and another to investigate allegations of ongoing anti-Semitic harassment on campus due to the war in Gaza.

Harvard has made public its internal reviews addressing anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim incidents, and said it is in compliance with federal civil rights laws while working to foster an inclusive campus.

Kimberly Hayek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.