The Trump administration is injecting more than $100 million into education programs for American researchers in STEM fields, as federal policies stanch the flow of foreign scientists to the US and policymakers focus on an AI arms race with China.
The initiative, which President Donald Trump is set to announce at a White House summit on Thursday, aims to increase the number of highly trained scientific researchers who are American citizens through fellowships for PhD programs in science and engineering disciplines, according to a White House official. The administration is also resurrecting the National Science Foundation’s Young Scholars program, which was shuttered in 1996. It is being revived with $30 million in government funding and an additional $50 million from sources including Wall Street juggernaut Jane Street, the official said.
Trump will also use Thursday’s summit to present awards to tech industry leaders including Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Federal investment in STEM PhDs also comes as the government looks to boost AI research capacity and improve the position of the US in what administration officials say is a global race to develop artificial intelligence.
Many colleges froze or reduced admissions to doctoral programs this year, and the number of students admitted to PhD programs fell by 15% from the previous year. International students made up nearly 40% of PhD students in science and engineering fields in 2024, according to federal data. At the event Thursday, Trump will also announce that the Department of Energy is gaining access to $100 million in compute credits to pursue scientific discovery thanks to a private donation, a White House official said.
CEO Lisa Su, according to the official.
