Higher Education

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration, including one that reads “Kill the Cuts, Save Science” in bold white and yellow letters, and another that says “I’d rather be in lab but the NIH cut my funding.”

Education

Federal judge orders 500 health science grants at UCLA restored, rebuffing Trump’s suspensions

UCLA and University of California leaders are fighting Trump’s demands for a $1.2 billion settlement over a litany of accusations, including that the campus permits antisemitism.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• September 22, 2025

Two people in a classroom-like setting, one sitting at a table working on a laptop with papers and books around, while the other stands nearby, looking upward with hands clasped.

Higher Education

California faces steepest cuts as Trump ends diversity grants. How one college is faring

As the U.S. Department of Education cuts back on grants to colleges and universities that serve Latino, Asian, Black and Native American students, California will lose millions — including money that will soon get sent to other institutions in swing states and states that voted for Trump in 2024.

By

Adam Echelman

• September 22, 2025

Groups of students walk through a plaza in front of a main building on the University Of California Los Angeles campus.

Higher Education

Billions of dollars in California research grants now hang in the balance at an obscure federal court

The Court of Federal Claims was a little-known court until the U.S. Supreme Court said that universities need to file suit there, and not in traditional district courts, to try to have their research grant funding restored. The Trump administration has terminated billions of dollars in science grants.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• September 19, 2025

The backs of two students are seen walking through a pathway lined with trees and palm trees at the San Diego State campus.

Higher Education

More California high school seniors applied for college financial aid this year than last

About 340,000 California students completed a financial aid application, up about 11% over last year.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• September 15, 2025

A life-sized mannequin laying on a hospital bed as two nursing students sit on a table nearby while they use syringes to practice injection procedures.

Commentary

California faces a nursing shortage. Community colleges can help

Assembly Bill 1400 would enable some of California’s community colleges to offer bachelor of nursing programs. Students could pursue their education in their communities, at a cost they could afford.

By Betty Limon • September 8, 2025

A U.S. Border Patrol officer in a green uniform and cap walks near vehicles at a border crossing, while a group of people, including children, stand in a line beside a white van. A tall border fence runs along the hill in the background.

Higher Education

Immigration agents signed up to recruit at a California university. Then the protests started

Social media swirled with rumors that ICE would be among the employers at the job fair, something the campus said is not true. Still, the campus postponed the event over concerns about Customs and Border Protection’s participation.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• August 28, 2025

A classroom full of students sits at round tables while an instructor at the front of the room gives a presentation. The instructor wears a face mask and gestures with their hands as a slide projected behind them explains how to write a literature review. Most students are engaged, taking notes or listening attentively. The classroom is brightly lit with overhead lights and whiteboards lining the walls.

Commentary

Immigrant students shape California’s future. Don’t close the door on them

International students spend $6.4 billion a year in California, and immigrants account for a third of its gross domestic product. Federal anti-immigrant policies endanger that.

By Venkates Swaminathan • August 19, 2025

A person stands indoors pointing to a section of a large academic poster titled “Expectation to Guarantee: Bounding Welfare in Randomized Auctions.” The poster contains mathematical formulas, graphs, and text. The individual wears a dark shirt and is explaining or presenting the material. In the background, a framed black-and-white photograph hangs on the wall above a white woven basket.

Higher Education

California invested millions pushing these careers for women. The results are disappointing

Women continue to lag behind men in certain science, technology, engineering and math programs.

By

Adam Echelman

• August 15, 2025

A person, wearing a black mask and sunglasses holds a cardboard sign that says "FUND SCIENCE!" on it while they march next to other protesters

Education

Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore hundreds of UCLA research grants

The administration terminated the grants over alleged DEI violations. University of California attorneys argued the suspensions were arbitrary and capricious.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• August 12, 2025

A person wearing glasses, a dark blue button-up shirt, and black pants leans against an office chair in a workspace, looking slightly to the side. Behind them is a desk with a large computer monitor, a coffee mug, framed photos, and various papers and decorations, including posters and newspaper clippings pinned to the wall.

Education

Fearing deportation, international students go silent at California’s universities

After hundreds of international students lost their status this spring, then regained it following lawsuits, the uncertainty of it happening again has created fear. Some students say they’ve changed the routes they take on campus, the topics they research, and what they post on social media.

By

Emewodesh Eshete

• August 8, 2025