PhD degree programs across America are experiencing severe cutbacks as federal funding cuts, brain drain from government agencies and attacks on diversity initiatives converge to create what experts call an unprecedented crisis in graduate education.

On Thursday (January 29), American Business Magazine Forbes’ senior contributor Michael T. Nietzel wrote in his article, leading research universities including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown and University of Chicago announced significant reductions or freezes in PhD admissions last year. University of Chicago paused or cut admissions in social sciences, arts and humanities in August, citing mounting financial pressures. George Washington University this month announced 7 percent cuts in doctoral student support, affecting 13 programs.

“Graduate student PhD lines are the bread and butter for maintaining a research program at any university. If you are cutting PhD packages to recruit students, you are basically cutting the capacity to do research,” Guillermo Orti, chair of GWU's Department of Biological Sciences told Forbes.

Large public universities including University of Wisconsin, Michigan State and University of Washington took similar steps. Doctoral enrollment dropped 0.3 percent last fall, losing over 2 thousand students nationally, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data.

International graduate student enrollment plunged 19 percent last year, with 63 percent of universities reporting declines. By contrast, Asian universities saw 3 percent increases while European and UK institutions gained 5 percent and 3 percent respectively. Recent visa and immigration policy shifts are being blamed for dramatic reductions in applicants from other countries.

Canada launched aggressive strategy in December to capitalize on American uncertainty, pledging nearly CAD 170 crore (nearly USD 125 crore) to attract international researchers. Programme includes CAD 13 crore 36 lakh over three years to encourage 600 doctoral students and 400 post-doctoral researchers to relocate from United States.

Federal research agencies lost 4 thousand 224 STEM PhDs in 2025, with departures outnumbering new hires by 11 to one ratio, according to White House Office of Personnel Management data analysed by Science journal. National Institutes of Health topped losses with over 1 thousand 100 PhD departures last year, compared to only 421 in 2024.

National Science Foundation saw net reduction of 205 STEM PhDs between January and November, amounting to 40% of its total pre-Trump PhD workforce of 517. Across 14 agencies examined, average 17% decline occurred in STEM PhD employees between December 2024 and November 2025.

Agencies lost roughly three times more experts in 2025 than in 2024. Science journal reported most departures resulted from retirements and resignations rather than reductions in force, with decisions influenced by fear of dismissal, buyout offers or disagreement with Trump policies.

Education Department's Office for Civil Rights in March investigated 45 universities for participating in PhD Project, a programme since 1994 helping Black, Hispanic and Native American professionals earn doctoral degrees. Programme claims helping over 1,500 members earn degrees.

Department alleged institutions violated Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 by partnering with organisation limiting eligibility based on participant race. Universities included Arizona State, University of Michigan, University of Washington, Ohio State, UC Berkeley, Yale, NYU, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Duke and MIT.

Arizona State and Universities of Iowa, Kentucky and Wyoming promptly cut ties with organization. About 20% of institutional partners stepped away, causing substantial financial difficulties, according to CEO Alfonzo Alexander. Programme removed race and ethnicity from application criteria following investigation.

President Trump proposed deep budget cuts for National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other federal agencies. While Congress appears inclined to reject reductions, universities are playing cautiously with research and graduate education commitments given continued federal uncertainty.

Reductions represent almost inevitable result of administration's stated desire to reduce federal spending on research, major funding source for most doctoral training programs, especially in sciences. Some argue pullbacks represent long-overdue rightsizing of doctoral graduate glut, but most observers are alarmed by implications for America's traditional leadership in graduate education, particularly in STEM disciplines.

Source: Forbes