My family member is soon graduating from an MD/PhD program that receives much of its funding from the NIH.
I have no doubt that these programs will be impacted.
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Itās hard to see how significant funding cuts wonāt trickle down in some way or form to reducing resources for undergraduates too, if not reduction in TAs then possible reallocation of budget, etc.
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Half of my salary comes directly from āsoft moneyā funded by federal grants that I wrote myself (NIH). At least Iām on more āhardā money than I used to be, which comes from my institution (R1) rather directly from the feds. But as an R1, a huge amount of that āhard moneyā is ultimately funded by federal indirect costs from grants like mine. Delightful times.
Iām actually not even reading any national news or even most of the emails from my university because itās too stressful. Iām only listening to things that are directly relevant to me. Nothing I can do about any of it right now.
My spouseās salary is almost all hard money, but is quite low and summer is supplemented with federal grants that were hard-won. However, their institution (SLAC) is struggling, so the hard money isnāt as reassuring as mine is.
Spouseās former students who applied to grad school this year are having horrific luck.
My lab is not accepting any PhD students or postdocs right now, even though, on paper, we have funds to do so.
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My kid is a PhD student, year 2, and very uncertain about continued funding after midyear.
It is just unbelievable. We are going backwards on health progress. And weāll lose a full generation at least of PhDs. How in the world can that be spun as good for the country?
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My son is in the midst of chemistry PhD applications now and itās been a s$%*-show. Heās graduating suma cum laude from an elite instituition with great research experience and letters of rec, and getting rejections (or ācricketsā) across the board - as schools have drastically cut or frozen their PhD acceptances. He even had one offer rescinded, due to the whole federal funding fiasco. These kids went through COVID hell when they started college, and now this. Itās so infuriating. He had his heart set on a career in scientific research - and he would have been very good at it ā¦ and itās all crumbling to pieces. My heart breaks for him and the scientific community as a whole. I just canāt even wrap my head around it.
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Itās horrible.
Heartbreaking to see it all unfold.
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The law of unintended consequences.
Europeās scientific community was almost destroyed in the aftermath of WW2 and took a long time to rebuild. So many Jewish scientists fled (or were kicked out) before the war; many academics died during the war; the resources for research and collaboration were very scarce after the war.
And so now weāre going to repeat this horrible experiment. And not because of a war, lack of resources, or any tragedy. Just because it suits the prevailing narrative somehow. What happens when you strangle scientific discovery and innovation?
Gee, I wonder. By the time everyone who is mobile has found positions in Canada, Australia, etc. the rest of us will still be debating whether or not the measles vaccine is effective. Itās back to the 1950ās.
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My son has had a good amount of success in his PhD search, knock on wood. He only applied to 4 very competitive universities and has 2 written offers and believes that #3 is arriving soon after a successful visit last week. He isnāt expecting #4 for a couple reasons one of which is funding related. His undergrad cohort however, is not finding the same success, although one was finally admitted to a masters program.
He is so ready for this next step and completely excited to do research. It would be nice if he could just choose based on where he could do the most interesting research and what program has the best vibe for himā¦but I guess we will wait and see if he loses funding offers like so many others are.
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Congrats to your son. May I ask what field he applied to for his PhD? Was this the earth sciences / geochemistry field?
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We were talking about potential knock-on effects earlier - this from the article:
The professor expressed concern that Penn may have to cut other programs within the school to account for the loss of federal funding.
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Interesting article.
Maybe not a popular opinion but one way to deal with this would be to cut funded positions for international graduate students. I donāt think this is ideal in the slightest (I work with a number of people who came to the US to get PhDs and they have stayed and contributed to the country) but if we have to reallocate scarcer resources thatās one way to do it. Unless of course we want to start losing our best people overseas too. As a friend of mine in the UK said to me today, āif I were a European Uni Iād be roadshowing our opportunities in the US right nowā.
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Universities want the top talent for their programs wherever it originates from. Saving those resources for domestic talent is nice for domestic talent but the universities donāt necessarily benefit from it. They are still going to prefer student A even if student B is domestic and has to find another university abroad or doesnāt find one. I think many more international people would stay post-PhD if they had or could get the correct visa. That is usually the issue.
This past application cycle my son applied for doctoral/graduate programs at several U.S. universities; on the advice of his undergraduate mentor, he also applied to a graduate program at a European university. He has struck out/been placed on hold with all the American universities; he was , however, accepted to the program at the European university. So, at least he has somewhere to go!
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Gift link to NYT article āAs Trump Goes After Universities, Students Are Now on the Chopping Blockā: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/us/politics/trump-university-funding-grad-student-cuts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.104.aWAH.htfFrzk1pEKe&smid=url-share
My grad student D says that this article focuses too heavily on Ivy League schools like Penn and Columbia and not enough on the effect this will have on public universities, especially the satellite campuses of public universities that serve more rural areas. Sheās worried that the loss in NIH funding (and probably other federal funds) may force the closure of some satellite campuses. So while itās awful to have a school renege on your PhD offer, itās worse to be a hopeful undergrad in an area where your main public option may close entirely.
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Yes, dd received āconditional offer.ā Then received ominous letter, attended weekend visit anyway, didnāt make first set of cuts and on waitlist. BIOCHEM
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Rumor mill: Columbia offers rescinded unless Prof can fully fund student. CHEM Phd
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Interesting and worthy of discussion! Seems most public schools here in CA did not change their science-based Phd offerings.
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agree completely. can tell you based on anecdotal evidence from three Phd chem campus visits, the US candidate is NOT prioritized.