The New School has received approximately $7.6 million in foreign funding through six separate transactions since 2013, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education’s foreign gift disclosure database. 

A one-time $3.5 million transaction from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the form of a contract payment accounted for the largest share. The contract with the UAE started in 2016 and ended in 2021. 

Followed by additional transactions from India, Mauritius, Liechtenstein, and Taiwan, according to federal public records. 

At the time of publication, the New School Free Press was unable to confirm the exact nature of these payments through publicly available Form 990 tax filings.

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 states that colleges and universities must report any foreign gifts, funding, or contracts valued at $250,000 or more to the Department of Education twice a year, which then makes the information publicly available.

The U.S. Department of Education states that Section 117’s disclosure requirements are intended to “protect national security and academic integrity by providing transparency regarding potential foreign influence in higher education.”

For the last five years, international students have made up about 32% of The New School’s student body on average, according to The New School’s Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support’s IR Digest — a number higher than the national average of 6%. 

However, that share comes amid a recent decline. In fall 2025, international enrollment dropped by roughly 280 students, alongside a smaller dip in domestic enrollment — a shift influenced by changes to federal student visa policies, The New York Times reported.

According to the Department’s data, universities self-reported $5 billion in foreign funding in 2025. 

It is unclear whether the drop in international student enrollment will affect the foreign funding TNS receives.

While federal records confirm The New School has received foreign funding, the specific purpose of the UAE’s $3.5 million payment and other reported payments remains unclear. 

At the time of publication, The New School’s university communications office did not respond to NSFP’s request for comment on the nature of the foreign payments and how they are utilized at TNS.