About 75% of American scientists are considering quitting and moving abroad.

In response to the drastic cuts in research funding and the turmoil in the research environment in the United States, about 75% of scientists are considering leaving the country and moving abroad, according to a report in the academic journal Nature. This trend is particularly strong among early-career researchers such as graduate students and postdocs, with many expressing a desire to move to Canada or Europe.

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00938-y

According to a survey conducted by Nature in March 2025, more than 1,200 of the approximately 1,650 scientists who responded, or about 75%, said they were considering leaving the United States, with Europe and Canada being particularly popular destinations.

The tendency to leave is particularly pronounced among early career researchers, with 548 (79%) of 690 postdocs and 255 (75%) of 340 doctoral students saying they were considering moving abroad.

One PhD student who spoke to Nature said he was working on plant genomics and agriculture at a top US university, but lost his research and living expenses when the Trump administration cut off funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The student's supervisor arranged for short-term emergency funding, but it wasn't enough, so at the time of writing he was trying to stay in his program by applying for teaching assistantships, but the competition is fierce and the prospects are not good.

Another junior researcher said, 'PIs think they can weather this mess, but we junior researchers don't have that luxury. This is a crucial time for our careers, and it's been completely disrupted in a matter of weeks.'

Furthermore, one researcher said, 'I would like to stay in the United States as long as I can support my lab and students as a faculty member, but if the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding is significantly cut, that will not be possible.' Another researcher said that as a transgender person, she feels that it is extremely difficult to live the life she wants in the United States today, and that she hopes to find employment in Europe.

Nature emphasizes that the survey results highlight the deep sense of crisis among scientists, leading them to feel that 'they really don't want to leave the US, but they have no other options.'