In response to rising international tensions and espionage threats, ETH Zurich has implemented new security checks for master’s and doctoral applicants from 23 sanctioned countries. The university’s measures aim to prevent misuse of sensitive technologies developed in its research programs. Although this could disproportionately impact applicants from China, ETH stresses that each application will be evaluated individually without bias against nationalities. Reactions have been mixed, with allegations of discrimination from Chinese officials, which the ETH firmly denies, stating that no applicants are excluded based solely on their country of origin.