A piece of news recently swept through study-abroad circles:
Middlebury College in the U.S. has officially announced that its affiliate, the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), will completely cease operations by 2027 and stop all on-campus master's program admissions.
Source: Middlebury Campus
This top-tier institution, often called the 'Harvard of Translation and Interpretation,' has cultivated generations of professional interpreters and translators for international organizations, multinational corporations, and diplomatic services. Once a mecca for countless English, international relations, and language majors, it now faces an unavoidable closure under the twin blows of AI technology and economic pressures.
According to official announcements and alumni letters, the direct causes were fiscal deficits and plunging enrollment. Despite significant investment in transformation, the school could not reverse the continuous decline in student numbers and applications.
Netizen: Can you believe it? Just one week into the semester, and we get the news that our school is shutting down 😅
Source: rednote
This closure is not just the end of a prestigious school—it's a wake-up call:
If even the 'Harvard of Translation' can't weather the tides of our era, how many other traditional programs can stand alone?
Global Universities Undergo a Major Program Reshuffle
United States: Squeezed by Policy, AI, and Economics
In the U.S., many universities are accelerating the elimination of 'low-demand' degree programs, with liberal arts and humanities bearing the brunt.
Source: AP News
Indiana University Bloomington will terminate or consolidate over 100 academic programs by the 2026–27 academic year, affecting French, Italian, comparative literature, art history, gender studies, astronomy, and many other traditional liberal arts disciplines.
This massive downsizing is in response to new Indiana state legislation requiring the suspension or merger of programs with three-year average graduation numbers below specified thresholds (fewer than 15 for bachelor's, 7 for master's, and 3 for doctoral programs).
Source: Forbes
Indiana, Utah, Ohio, and other states have enacted laws requiring universities to discontinue degree programs with 'too few graduates,' and any program wishing to continue must obtain state approval. These policies not only push universities to proactively cut programs but also intensify pressure on traditional liberal arts and less-commonly-taught languages.
Source: Inside Higher Ed
West Virginia University also announced in 2023 the elimination of 32 programs and the complete removal of language degree programs from its Department of World Languages, including Chinese, French, Spanish, German, and others.
Source: West Virginia Watch
Additionally, several small liberal arts colleges in the U.S. have already closed due to financial distress:
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University of the Arts suddenly closed in June 2024, affecting approximately 1,300 students
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Union Institute & University lost accreditation and shut down in 2024
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University of Saint Katherine ceased operations in 2024
Source: Inside Higher Ed
United Kingdom: A 'Winter' for Humanities Programs
Data from the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows that student enrollment in “languages and area studies” courses dropped by about 20% over four years. Starting in 2025, a number of well-known UK universities have begun intensive humanities course cuts and departmental restructuring.
Source: HESA
University of Bristol plans to cut 45 positions in its Language and Academic Development Centre.
Source: Epigram
Kingston University plans to cancel a range of humanities courses, including several language programs.
Source: Kingston
University of Sheffield is canceling undergraduate majors in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc., retaining only the 'East Asian Studies' degree.
Source: Now Then Magazine
Furthermore, according to the Financial Times, the N8 Research Partnership (which includes Durham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, York, and Lancaster) is planning to merge language courses or departments to share resources and reduce costs.
Source: FT
Beyond language programs, archeology, philosophy, cultural studies, history, anthropology, religious studies, and many other fields have also become targets for cuts.
Behind this massive contraction lie financial strain, declining enrollment, and long-standing UK government policies that push marketization and a STEM-focused higher education.
Canada: Humanities Program Suspensions and Budget Troubles
York University in Canada has suspended admissions to 18 undergraduate programs, mainly in cultural studies. Reasons include low enrollment rates, tightened international student policies, and insufficient provincial funding, all creating financial pressure.
Source: The Varsity
McGill University's Faculty of Arts plans to cut millions from its budget due to shortfalls, including reducing teaching assistant positions and course offerings.
In 2013, the university eliminated 100 arts courses, deprioritized humanities, and ignored student feedback. This year's measures continue that worrying trend.
Source: McGill Daily
Moreover, humanities enrollment in Canada has been on a downward trend overall, with post-secondary liberal arts enrollment dropping by about 18.5% over the past decade.
AI is Reshaping Higher Education
Last year, Microsoft Copilot's research dropped a bombshell on the global education sector: translation and interpretation emerged as one of the occupations at highest risk of AI displacement.
Source: KATV
Large language models like GPT-5 and Gemini already achieve native-level contextual understanding, and AI translation tools are being fully commercialized. Videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Tencent Meeting have widely launched real-time simultaneous interpretation, dramatically shrinking the market space for traditional human interpreters.
Source: rednote
This means that professionals equipped ‘only with language skills’ are being rapidly replaced by more cost-effective AI tools. Employers increasingly prefer to hire ‘tech-savvy language talent’—composite translators who can use AI translation tools, perform corpus cleaning, and are familiar with localization workflows—rather than costly, less efficient ‘pure human translators.’
As higher education faces the dual pressures of a ‘humanities winter’ and the AI revolution, elite universities are seeking a way out through interdisciplinary integration and technology embedding.
Northwestern University’s Communication Studies program has added an AI concentration focused on applying AI technologies to communication and organizational leadership.
The University of California system is driving AI integration into non-STEM programs like law and nursing; UC Berkeley has launched the first AI-focused law degree.
Source: University of California
Stanford has launched an AI ethics course, prompting technologists to reflect on societal impacts.
MIT has introduced AI teaching assistants and a university-wide computing college, promoting interdisciplinary integration and ethical education.
Source: MIT
Furthermore, educators are partnering with tech giants like Google to offer “short-term skill certifications” beyond traditional degree programs.
Within the University System of Maryland, its 12 public universities have rolled out Google Career Certificate programs, covering cybersecurity, data analytics, project management, and AI fundamentals, free for students to boost their employment competitiveness.
Source: umd
It’s clear that future education will not be about clinging to a single discipline but about cross-sector integration and technological synergy.
An International Student Survival Guide in the AI Era
Facing program restructuring and the AI shockwave, how can international students avoid being left behind by the times? The core strategy: make yourself “harder to replace.”
Choose “Cross-Disciplinary Integration” to Boost Resilience
Future competition isn’t about depth in a single discipline but the power to integrate across fields.
If you love literature, consider pairing it with AI tools and moving into “digital humanities.” Sociology students can add data analytics skills and pivot to “computational social science.” Language students, with project management capabilities, can transform into “localization product managers”—an indispensable bridge role in global companies.
Passion + Tech = New Professional Competitiveness.
Actively Learn AI Tools to Enhance “Human-Machine Collaboration”
Instead of worrying about being replaced by AI, take the lead in becoming someone who can harness AI.
For example:
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Get familiar with translation assistance tools (e.g., Trados, MemoQ)
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Master post-editing (MTPE) workflows to improve translation quality and efficiency
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Learn language technologies such as prompt engineering, corpus cleaning, and model fine-tuning to make AI work for you...
Break Down “Disciplinary Silos” to Build a Composite Resume
Don’t rely solely on your major textbook knowledge; accumulating diverse practical experience is key:
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Take interdisciplinary courses in data, UX design, AI, or other tech areas
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Participate in campus AI projects, curriculum development, or tech competitions
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Seek tech-related internships, stack international experience, and craft a 'globally transferable' resume...
Today’s employers prefer composite talent with cross-domain collaboration experience.
Cultivate “Career Fluidity” and Embrace Lifelong Learning
The World Economic Forum has long pointed out that the future generation of professionals will switch career tracks an average of 5–7 times.
The shelf life of a single degree is shrinking. Those who can stand firm in uncertain times are individuals with “cognitive flexibility” and a capacity for continuous learning.
A degree is not the finish line—it’s the starting point.
We are witnessing the curtain fall on an era. But this is not an apocalypse; it’s an update of our cognitive structures.
No major is forever safe, and no job guarantees high pay. The only ones who will not be left behind are “cognitive evolvers”—those who continually break their own boundaries, dare to cross disciplines, and know how to grow synergistically with AI.
After the storm passes, the future belongs to those who embrace change and grow new capabilities from traditional knowledge.
