In a letter last week, the government listed conditions that Harvard must meet to receive federal money, including a ban on protesters wearing masks.

Harvard's borrowing plan follows a similar move by Princeton University, which announced on April 1 that it may issue about US$320 million in taxable bonds later this month. Princeton also revealed that the US government had frozen several research grants.

Harvard University plans to borrow $750 million as it evaluates "resources need to advance its academic and research priorities" amid the Trump administration's threat to cut federal funding.