Department of Defense Concludes Audit of GU Foreign Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) completed an audit of Georgetown University’s financial and academic relationships with foreign institutions identified by the department as “concerning” to national security, the DOD announced Oct. 19.

In August, the DOD asked Georgetown and 29 other universities to report ties to select entities in China, Russia and Iran . The audits resulted in over 80 “termination-related actions” across the 30 affected universities, but the DOD did not identify Georgetown among institutions that went “above and beyond” to end partnerships .

A university spokesperson said Georgetown follows federal guidelines and has a research security program designed to protect research.

“Georgetown has a robust and comprehensive research security program that is designed to preserve the integrity of Georgetown research and safeguard the Georgetown research enterprise from foreign interference, exploitation or theft,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya in August. “Georgetown ensures we meet federal requirements while maintaining the integrity, openness, and collaboration that define academic research.”

In the DOD’s initial Aug. 17 request, the department said the universities were required to submit their audits by Aug. 31 or risk future federal research funds.

Emil Michael, the DOD undersecretary for research and engineering, said the audits were successful at all 30 institutions, commending the universities’ cooperation.

“I am proud that the Department of War went 30-for-30 in working with these top-tier research universities to terminate relationships with malign foreign entities,” Michael wrote in a press release. “The Department commends the institutions that took decisive action to mitigate relationships that could expose American research to foreign exploitation.”

Between 1992 and 2025, Georgetown received the ninth-largest number of foreign contracts and gifts of recorded U.S. universities, totaling $1.466 billion — over $1 billion of which comes from contracts with Qatar. The university has also collaborated with some universities the DOD has identified as “concerning,” including China’s Tsinghua University, which co-hosted a dialogue with Georgetown in May, and Fudan University , whose leadership has met with Georgetown officials as recently as 2024.

In July, the Trump administration proposed a federal rule change establishing a “domestic-first” framework, requiring that any international academic collaborations further U.S. interests and prohibiting partnerships with countries identified as potential adversaries. Georgetown opposed the proposal.

The DOD commended several universities that proved especially cooperative during the audits, including Oklahoma State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin and Virginia Tech . Joseph Jewell, the DOD assistant secretary for science and technology, identified these universities as having taken “bold, self-initiated” steps to prevent foreign exploitation of university research.

Michael said the DOD’s success will ensure U.S. research institutions’ security standards.

“Our work will continue,” Michael wrote. “Institutions that fail to meet research security standards are on notice: Taxpayer dollars will not support institutions whose partnerships put the American warfighter or the Nation’s technological advantage at risk.”

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