Students graduating from a Maryland college or university this spring now qualify for a 50% discount on graduate tuition at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

The offer for those enrolling this fall is meant to help students as they enter a “tough hiring season,” according to a Monday news release. The school’s master’s degree programs in specialties like management, finance and marketing typically cost $50,000 to $71,000, on par with others in the Baltimore area.

Experts say the unexpected move could signal that the business school, like many across the country, is facing headwinds from federal changes to international student visas and limits on graduate student loans.

“A uniform 50% off is quite unusual,” said Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He added that he didn’t know of other programs offering discounts “at this magnitude.”

A spokesperson for Carey Business School said officials were not available for interviews on Monday.

Hopkins enrolled 2,478 graduate students studying business, management, marketing and related support services in 2024, the latest year for which federal data is available.

“They likely enrolled a lot of international students,” Kelchen said. “They’re preparing for a world where most international students aren’t able to get into the country.”

A year ago, President Donald Trump’s administration began revoking student visas with little or no notice. By summer 2025, the number issued had dropped by more than 100,000 compared with the year prior, and new international student enrollment decreased by 17%.

Graduate business schools across the country often enroll lots of international students, according to Jeongeun Kim, a professor of higher education at the University of Maryland, College Park. With fewer students to go around, Carey is now competing with other business schools for domestic students.

“Business schools across the U.S. have seen a decrease in student applications,” Kim said.

New limits on student loans could play a role in that, too, said Sandy Baum, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

Graduate students earning their master’s degrees can now only take out $20,500 annually in federal loans, which could deter some from earning an advanced degree, she said.

Baum said there is “a lot of uncertainty,” and Carey Business School likely wants to prevent a big enrollment decline.

University budgets put “incredible responsibility on each academic school to bring in money,” said Kelchen, the University of Tennessee professor. Though Johns Hopkins has a $13 billion endowment, its bottom line has been rocked by federal research cuts and policy changes under the Trump administration, resulting in losses exceeding $1 billion.

Carey Business School’s pitch to new college grads this spring: Jobs are hard to find, but an advanced degree could help a year from now. Carey students can earn master’s degrees in a year or less; some programs take only nine months.

Applications are open until May 20.

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