UK job applications from US-based staff rise by a quarter

The number of overseas job applications from US higher education staff rose by a fifth last year, according to new data which experts said shows a clear “Trump effect” on global mobility.

An analysis of figures from Times Higher Education’s Unijobs website shows that US-based applications for roles outside the US rose by 21 per cent in 2025, compared with the year before.

“It is clear that the ‘culture war’ by president Trump and his supporters is creating a toxic, anti-intellectual atmosphere on many US campuses, especially those in red states,” said Nigel Healey, a researcher and consultant in international higher education.

He pointed to the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes and the public harassment of liberal professors as factors sapping the morale and confidence of “rank and file” academics, but said it was the axeing of federal research funding that was most likely to be driving the most talented professors away. 

“Most mainstream US academics will probably take the long view and hope they can hunker down and ride out the storm, but there is a real risk that more of the US academic stars will be cherry-picked by rival countries, increasing the trickle of intellectual defections that started in 2025,” Healey added. 

“The US may also find itself losing a chunk of the next generation of academics who look abroad after leaving US graduate schools.”

The jobs data shows that most of the growth from US applicants appears to be in English- and Chinese-language markets.

The UK was the largest recipient in terms of volume, with US applications growing 24 per cent.

Applications surged by 55 per cent to Hong Kong, by 18 per cent to Australia and by 78 per cent to Ireland. Meanwhile, applications rose by 16 per cent to China.  

A number of high-profile academics quit the US in 2025 for jobs in Canada, the UK and Europe.

With the picture for US higher education not looking “any rosier” in 2026, Rachel Brooks, professor of higher education at the University of Oxford, said the data suggest a clear Trump effect in global trends.

“While many national HE sectors are not in great shape financially at present, most are at least free of the political interference we have seen in the US.”

Brooks said the UK’s research ecosystem may not see any clear benefits for a while, particularly if US scholars are taking up jobs that would otherwise go to “almost-as-well-qualified UK nationals”.

And she said it will be hard for universities to take much individual action, given the small number of jobs that are currently being advertised, and the financial challenges many are facing.

“However, the additional money made available through the government’s Global Talent initiative is aimed at making an impact over the next five-year period, so hopefully tangible benefits will be seen over that time frame,” she added.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com