Northwestern is ranked among the top 15 universities that have received the most foreign funding to date, according to a new portal released by the U.S. Department of Education.

Out of 555 institutions, Northwestern came in 12th with over $1.26 billion in funding from foreign sources. Topping the list of contributors to the university was Qatar, from which Northwestern has received over $766 million. Switzerland and Germany trailed behind, contributing around $82 million and $46 million, respectively.

The website is part of an effort started during Trump’s first term to force universities to be more transparent about foreign involvement. The Trump administration previously investigated universities for failing to report foreign gifts, with much of the attention on existing ties with China.

Northwestern has received around $37 million in funding from China.

The Education Department said in a Wednesday press release that the website is meant to increase transparency in the landscape of foreign funding while addressing potential national security concerns at universities.

“Thanks to the Trump Administration’s new accountability portal, the American people have unprecedented visibility into the foreign dollars flowing into our colleges and universities — including funding from countries and entities that are involved in activities that threaten America’s national security,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement.

For years, Northwestern has been the subject of similar debates due to its relationship with Qatar. The university is one of the largest beneficiaries of Qatari funding in Education City, a Qatar Foundation-funded complex in Doha.

Northwestern’s contracts with Qatar have been thrust into the spotlight before, even during former President Michael Schill’s term. When he testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce in 2024, Republican lawmakers berated him over the university’s partnership with Qatar.

As previously reported, Northwestern could decide whether to renew its contract with the Qatar Foundation as soon as the end of the academic year.

The current contract between the two parties runs through the end of the 2027–2028 academic year, nearly two decades after the campus first opened.

Northwestern is currently investigating “despicable and hateful” graffiti found in several locations on campus on Feb. 1, Northwestern spokesperson Hilary Hurd Anyaso told The Purple Wire. 

Students posted about the vandalism on Fizz, an anonymous social media platform, with one user posting a photo of a symbol resembling a swastika drawn on a concrete fence post on campus.  

“Absolutely disgusting that these hate symbols can appear on campus,” the Fizz user wrote. 

According to Anyaso, the university “immediately removed or painted over” the graffiti and launched an investigation to identify the individual responsible for the vandalism using camera footage and forensics.

Northwestern has identified a suspect who is believed to be unaffiliated with the university, Anyaso told us. 

The university is working with local law enforcement on “next steps,” which could include criminal charges, Anyaso told The Purple Wire. 

Almost two years ago, Northwestern agreed to settle for $43.5 million in a class-action lawsuit accusing it and 16 other universities of illegally reducing students’ financial aid.

The lawsuit alleged that the universities engaged in a price-fixing scheme, violating antitrust laws and inflating tuition costs for students receiving financial aid. Current and former financial aid recipients of the university were later given until April 3, 2025, to submit their claims. 

However, patience appears to be running thin, as many are still waiting and wondering when they will receive their share of the university’s settlement.

“I am asking AGAIN five months later if anyone has anyyyy information about when they're going to pay out, or if there's anyone I can reach out to about it,” one user posted on a Northwestern community discussion panel four days ago.

The same day, another user wrote, “have seen people estimating that the settlement payments for that first big batch will come in a couple of months.”

When asked for comment, university spokesperson Hilary Hurd Anyaso said the university does not comment on litigation.

Not all of the universities have agreed to payouts, as some are still fighting the case in court.

Among those that have settled, Northwestern ranks second in settlement payments to Vanderbilt University, which agreed to a $55 million payment.

Other universities involved include Brown University, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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