The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge has implemented a hiring freeze for non-faculty roles.
Credit: Mel Musto/Bloomberg/Getty
The wave of budget cuts in the US is leading to severe measures by universities nationwide. In response to President Donald Trump’s cost-reduction initiatives, academic institutions are initiating hiring freezes, imposing travel limitations, and halting pay raises. A number of US universities have already laid off staff, with more considering layoffs and furloughs.
The tally of universities and programs that have restricted graduate-student admissions continues to grow. With the administration hinting at deeper cuts, many scholars express concern for the future of the US academic landscape, which heavily depends on federal funding for everything from graduate stipends to the maintenance of facilities.
“The academic framework upon which universities relied for conducting research and funding students, including postgraduates, is in peril, as it largely depended on federal grants,” states Aseem Prakash, a political science professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. “This is a significant shock.”
The White House did not provide a comment before this publication.
Sudden shifts
The administration has curtailed numerous funding sources for universities. Federal bodies such as the US National Institutes of Health have discontinued research grants and paused assessments of new grant proposals. Universally, institutions may encounter sharp reductions in federal income designated for indirect costs — essential for the operation of research facilities — accompanied by increases in taxes on endowments.
Numerous campuses are facing even stricter limitations. The US Department of Education has declared that 60 US higher education institutions are under scrutiny for potential antisemitism and discrimination, following protests across campuses after Israel’s 2023 military involvement in Gaza amidst Hamas attacks.
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The administration has already revoked $400 million in federal grants and contracts from Columbia University in New York “due to the institution’s ongoing failure to safeguard Jewish students from discrimination”, according to an official announcement.
Reports emerged on Wednesday indicating that the administration had suspended $175 million in federal funding intended for the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, due to its stance on transgender athletes. A university spokesperson clarified that their policies align with the requirements of national athletic organizations.
“The rapidity and magnitude of the federal government’s actions are unprecedented,” observes Daniel Greene, an information scientist at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Challenging job market
Amidst funding reductions and concerns regarding prospects, institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania have implemented hiring freezes for all staff and faculty. The Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland was preparing to recruit 40 faculty members across various domains, including chip engineering and political science. “That figure will likely be reduced to three or four,” Greene notes.
Other universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Pennsylvania, have also frozen hiring primarily for non-faculty roles.
Cost-cutting strategies at these institutions encompass halting pay raises and job promotions, while discouraging non-essential travel and training. Expenditures on conferences, food, and events have been frozen — “the types of gatherings that uplift spirits, which, in many ways, compounds the negativity,” remarks Jevin West, a computational scientist at the University of Washington. Universities are also pausing outlays on memberships, dues, and subscriptions, and reviewing financial commitments to new constructions and renovations.
The University of Washington has begun restricting researchers from utilizing grant money until it officially arrives. “That’s a significant concern,” observes West. “This limitation significantly hinders the research timeline.”
Constriction of the pipeline
Many universities have begun to limit their graduate-student admissions. A number of departments at MIT have accepted fewer graduate students in the current admissions cycle. West Virginia University’s Health Sciences Office of Research and Graduate Education in Morgantown has rescinded offers for students who had not yet confirmed their acceptance. Additionally, applicants to UMass Chan Medical School’s Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Worcester, Massachusetts, learned in early March that their conditional acceptance offers had been revoked.
