- Faced with impending federal funding cuts, universities are reducing their graduate school programs—including rescinding offers to some unlucky Gen Zers
Universities are bracing for the impact of Elon Musk’s DOGE on their bottom line—and graduate students are feeling the brunt of the effects.
Multiple schools, including the University of Pennsylvania, West Virginia University, and University of California at San Diego, have reportedly cut back or rescinded graduate admissions offers in the wake of billions of dollars in anticipated cuts to federal research funding from agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Wendy Roth, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, told The New York Times that departments are being directed to cut Ph.D. admissions and “unaccept” informal offers. Another professor told The Daily Pennsylvania that one graduate program will be forced to rescind the acceptances of around 60% of its students.
The school could lose about $240 million in annual federal funding from the NIH alone. If other agencies follow similar cutting practices, the losses could reach $315 million, according to a community message from the University of Pennsylvania’s interim president, Larry Jameson.
“These cuts by NIH will affect universities across the country, and we continue to explore legal options to address these reductions,” wrote Jameson.
Grant reductions are likely to affect nearly all universities, not just the Ivy Leagues. For example, a student at West Virginia University told local news outlet WBOY that her biomedical sciences Ph.D. program offer was abruptly rescinded. The school confirmed to Fortune that it was limiting admission to its health sciences doctoral programs "due to the unforeseen budgetary challenges resulting from proposed cuts to federal research funding."
"Indirect costs are partial reimbursements for real costs essential to support human and physical infrastructure required for university research programs. Without support for these costs, our nation’s research universities cannot maintain research programs essential for continued national prosperity," April Kaull, executive director of communications at West Virginia University, said in a statement.
UC–San Diego’s School of Biological Sciences is similarly cutting its doctoral program admission, with a 32% reduction this year, due to funding uncertainties at both the state and federal level, The Washington Post reported.
Program reductions could negatively impact the job market
While court challenges have already placed pauses on some NIH cuts, the uncertainty itself could have dramatic effects on research efforts in the U.S. and the future of the workforce.
Going back to school is a common practice during a rocky job market for individuals to upskill or pivot into a new career. Pairing reduced graduate school opportunities with spiking layoffs could leave thousands of workers with an unclear future. This just adds fire to the career struggles of Gen Zers—especially among men, many of whom have been frozen out of the job market.
Other universities, like Stanford, Emory, and North Carolina State, have implemented hiring freezes to prepare for potential dramatic changes to their funding models.
This all comes as President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as today, directing the abolishment of the U.S. Department of Education. While experts have long placed doubt on its outright closure, reductions in programs and funding are likely to cause additional confusion among students, especially those who carry student loans.
University representatives from the University of Pennsylvania and UC–San Diego did not immediately respond to Fortune’s requests for comment.
Was your graduate program offer rescinded in recent weeks? Contact preston.fore@fortune.com to share your story.
