UMass grad school applicants who got some of the best news of their lives are feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under them.
UMass Chan Medical School has rescinded provisional admission offers to several dozen PhD applicants to the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences for this upcoming fall.
The medical school, which is also freezing all hiring, is citing the uncertainty at the federal level as the Trump administration implements widespread cuts.
“With uncertainties related to the funding of biomedical research in this country, this difficult decision was made to ensure that our current students’ progress is not disrupted by the funding cuts and that we avoid matriculating students who may not have robust opportunities for dissertation research,” UMass Chan said in a statement.
“While this difficult decision is unfortunate and was not made lightly, UMass Chan is not alone in making such a decision,” the med school added. “Numerous peer universities in the commonwealth and across the country are reducing or rescinding offers of admission as one means of controlling spending during a highly uncertain time. Traditionally, PhD candidates do not pay tuition but, rather, earn a stipend that is funded by research grants.”
All impacted applicants can receive priority consideration — without the requirement to reapply — if they want to join the PhD program in a future admissions cycle.
Current PhD candidates are not impacted, nor are any applicants to UMass Chan’s two other graduate schools: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.
Meanwhile, UMass Chan Medical School officials announced the hiring freeze earlier this week. They noted that the federal proposal to cut and cap indirect NIH rates would result in an annual loss of $40 to $50 million that UMass Chan relies upon to support its biomedical research programs.
“While the Court’s granting of a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the notice from taking effect is welcome news, it likely does not represent a final resolution,” the officials wrote. “UMass Chan, along with thousands of research organizations across the country, is facing an unavoidable period of uncertainty even beyond the NIH’s proposed rate cut.
“Our research faculty are reporting a slowdown of federal study section meetings and council reviews – both of which are required for grant awards to be issued – which has decelerated new grant awards,” they added. “In addition, it has been reported that Medicaid, which accounts for one-fifth of all health care spending in the U.S., may face significant budget cuts. Any changes to the Medicaid funding formula would have far-reaching repercussions for Massachusetts, generally, and institutions like ours.”
As a result, the school is reducing spending. All hiring, including for faculty, grant-funded positions and summer internships, are paused until further notice.
Promotions and raises, including the annual July 1 salary increase program, are on hold.
“Targeted furloughs and layoffs are, unfortunately, going to be necessary and are currently being discussed with the leaders of academic and administrative departments,” the officials wrote.
Also, all new discretionary spending has been paused. Discretionary spending includes the use of university funds for: conferences, consultants, contractors, travel, food, events, and memberships, dues and subscriptions.
Meanwhile down at UMass Dartmouth, the campus announced that it will be implementing a hiring slowdown.
“To maintain the university’s financial stability, hiring will now be the exception rather than the rule,” UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark Fuller wrote. “Effective immediately, all faculty and staff searches — including backfilling vacant positions — require approval at the Chancellor and Provost level. Some hiring may continue based on institutional priorities and critical needs, but each request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine its immediate importance to our mission. We are also limiting the use of overtime and additional compensation.
“In addition to controlling our personnel costs, we are continuing to scrutinize non-personnel expenditures from university funds, including travel, discretionary spending, and capital projects,” Fuller added. “These measures are designed to ensure that our resources are allocated strategically, preserving our ability to invest in key priorities while maintaining financial flexibility in an uncertain environment.”