A growing number of UC Berkeley scientists are weighing jobs overseas as federal research grants are delayed, cut or politicized, Berkeleyside reports. Epidemiologist Catherine Metayer left this year for Université Paris Cité in France.
Why it matters: UC Berkeley runs a $1 billion-a-year research enterprise that depends heavily on federal grants and graduate students.
Who is leaving
Metayer's Berkeley center studying childhood leukemia is now winding down, Berkeleyside reported.
"The doors are revolving," she told Berkeleyside. "They are closing here in the U.S. but they are opening back in France."
In July, Forbes reported that a Nobel laureate was leaving UC Berkeley for a position in China.
How big is it?
No one knows exactly how many have left. Chancellor Rich Lyons told Berkeleyside the departures are "not a first-order threat" to the university.
Postdoctoral researchers are among those weighing options abroad, Berkeleyside reported. A Nature poll in March 2025 found 75% of U.S. scientists who responded were considering leaving.
Fewer Ph.D. students
Berkeley admitted nearly 20% fewer Ph.D. students for fall 2026 than in 2025. A spokesperson cited less funding, fewer international applications and over-enrollment in 2025.
The other side
The Trump administration says it is cutting waste and aligning science spending with the president's priorities. UC researchers have won court rulings in a class action, Thakur v. Trump, that restored many grants.