Some universities across the United States are reducing or halting their PhD admissions because of federal-funding uncertainties stemming from actions taken by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Few universities have released public statements about their strategies, so prospective graduate students have remained largely in the dark about which institutions are cutting back. Nature spoke to several young scientists caught up in the confusion. Some have received e-mails from universities indicating that they would have been accepted if not for funding uncertainties; others have been told that programs are completely paused.
At the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, some prospective students even received informal offers to join the graduate program, only to later have them rescinded, according to the institution’s newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“The whole thing is horrendous,” says a professor at the university, who requested anonymity because they are involved in admissions. “They’re cutting the heart of the intellectual mission of the university.” The university did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more at Nature.
