Editor's note: As of April, Fulbright-funded students have had their monthly stipends reinstated and are receiving funds as usual. Much of the reporting for this story was done before freeze was lifted.
A funding freeze to an international academic exchange program caused some international students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln problems earlier this year.
The Fulbright Program has been sponsored by the U.S. government since 1946. It pays for U.S. academics and professionals to study abroad and funds visiting scholars from other countries.
There were 17 Fulbright scholars at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Parviz Jamalov was a Fulbright Scholar at UNL from Tajikistan who was impacted as result of the Fulbright funding cuts. He graduated with a master's degree in integrated media communications.
When the funding freeze took effect in February, Jamalov said he received only 30% of his normal $1,350 monthly stipend.
“I still had to just, you know, unlock some other financial resources and use my personal savings just to pay for my rent fee,” he said. “Because you know like the renting fees, they're quite high.”
Jamalov said the funding cuts vary for individuals based on their country of origin. There are scholars who receive contributions from their home countries to their scholarships but for him it’s different – he received 100% of the funds from the Fulbright program.
He added the funding cuts, which were rescinded in April, have major impacts on students' mental wellbeing and day-to-day lives, from food insecurity to paying bills and rent.
“If you don't have your shelter, if you don't have your food, which are your physiological needs, right?” Jamalov said. “So, if you don't have a place to stay, and you can't pay for that place, you don't really think about your academics.”
Jamalov said he and his fellow scholars not only appreciate Nebraska for its educational opportunities but also the welcoming environment and commitment to global engagement. He added they are not just funding recipients; they actively contribute the education they receive to the Nebraska academic, research projects, cultural and economic landscape.
He also said he feels that people mistakenly believe the funds Fulbright recipients get are sent outside the states.
“All of the money that was received, it stays locally in Nebraska,” Jamalov said. “So unlike other forms of foreign aid, Fulbright funding directly benefits Nebraska's local business and economy.”
Fulbright funding was fully restored to international students by the beginning of April, but the short-term freeze still had effects on a number of students.
Dania Javaid, a doctoral student from Kashmir, Pakistan, was also affected by the funding freeze.
“I selected Fulbright by considering that this is the most secure platform.” she said. “And also I came here as a single female from that society, which is, again, a big thing for that culture.”
The Fulbright funding freeze significantly impacts Fulbright recipients because they cannot work more than 20 hours per week, and that’s limited to on-campus jobs.
Syed Owais Athar is a doctoral student in computer engineering from Pakistan. He now lives with his wife and a 7-year-old son who later joined him in Lincoln. His wife is on a J-2 visa, which is designated for the spouse and minor children of a J-1 visa holder, which is what Athar has.
He is expecting to graduate in spring 2026, but with all the changes under the new administration, he’s worried about graduating on time.
“If it continues the same way, and if I'm not getting the stipend, that would be very hard for me to continue, because that's my only source of income,” Athar said.
According to Maegan Stevens-Liska, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs and senior international officer at UNL, the Fulbright program is administered by the Institute of International Education. She said that since the program furloughed a significant number of employees, it’s difficult to get a timely answer regarding students’ concerns.
“What's challenging right now is that so many things are changing so quickly,” Stevens-Liska said earlier this year. “Every week, it seems that there's a new shift in policy or realities for some of our international students.”
Akomevo Fabrice Jbenonsi was another Fulbright graduate student from the western African country of Benin, who was studying at UNL's School of Natural Resources.
Jbenonsi had the same experience as his fellow Fulbright recipients.
“Yeah, so it's brought a lot of uncertainties and a lot of frustration,” he said.
He graduated this spring with a master's degree in applied ecology.
Stevens-Liska said UNL administration convened a working group including representatives from the International Student and Scholar office, the Office of Graduate Studies and a finance expert to make sure students have extra support as needed during this period.
She mentioned they also reached out to local landlords to help students not to be concerned about the delay in their monthly rent fees in March.
Fulbright recipients say that since the funding cuts took effect, they have lost the advisors they had through the IIE and Fulbright Program.
According to Stevens-Liska, it appears as though the changes have only impacted Fulbright scholars in the U.S.
“They confirmed that all Fulbright students that are outside of the country right now studying have received their stipends as normal, and they anticipate that the funding will be normalized going forward,” Stevens-Liska said.
Amid the uncertainties, the UNL Fulbright Students Association came together to celebrate the on-campus cultural diversity and community building that won it a Student Impact Award, as well as Nebraska’s role in promoting global engagement. The slogan for their event was “Global minds, Midwestern Hearts” from around the world in Nebraska.
“From around the world to Nebraska, global minds, Midwestern hearts, we are coming here with all of our ideas, all of our different strategies that we can use to make this campus a positive place,” Javaid said. “We need Nebraskans to stand with us. Fulbright has been serving Nebraska for years and years and we don't want this to end by all the things that are happening," she said. "We really want Nebraskans and the UNL community to stand with Fulbright. We need their support.”