TORONTO: Harvard University and the University of Toronto on Thursday (Jun 26) unveiled a contingency plan that would allow select Harvard graduate students to continue their studies in Canada if US visa restrictions prevent them from re-entering the United States.

It is the first international student backup strategy announced since the US Department of Homeland Security moved last month to strip Harvard of its ability to enrol international students. A federal judge has since blocked the move.

In response to potential visa challenges, students at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government who are unable to return to the US will have the option to continue their studies through a visiting student programme at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

The programme would combine courses taught by Kennedy and Munk faculty, the deans of both institutions said in a statement sent to Reuters.

The contingency plans are being announced to ease student uncertainty, but will only be implemented if there is sufficient demand from those unable to enter the US due to visa or entry restrictions, the statement added.

“With these contingency plans in place, HKS will be able to continue to provide a world-class public policy education to all of our students, even if they cannot make it to our campus this year," Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said.

The programme will be available to international students who have already completed one year at the US campus.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened or moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard. The administration has accused the university of failing to adequately address antisemitism and campus violence, violating reporting requirements, and coordinating with foreign entities, including China’s Communist Party, in ways that raise national security concerns.

Over the past five years, 52 per cent of Kennedy School students have come from outside the United States, the school's media office said.

The school currently enrols 739 students from 92 countries in programmes aimed at developing leadership in public policy and government, according to the Harvard International Office website.