The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty

90.5 WESA | By Kiley Koscinski
Published February 21, 2025 at 4:46 PM EST


Gene J. Puskar/AP

The Cathedral of Learning towers over the University of Pittsburgh campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh Monday, July 8, 2019.

Amid uncertainty about frozen research aid from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Pittsburgh has put its Ph.D. admissions on ice. The school confirmed Friday that there would be no new Ph.D. offers of admission while Pitt works to understand how reduced federal aid could impact the institution.

The move comes as research universities across the country battle against the National Institutes of Health over a policy to reduce the funding cap for ancillary research expenses like building construction and maintenance as well as support staff.

The policy would reduce the cap for those indirect research costs to 15%. Pitt’s current rate is 59%. A federal judge extended a temporary pause on implementation of that policy Friday. But Pitt’s decision to halt admissions was made earlier in the week.

"After the announcement that NIH indirect costs would be capped at 15%, the University’s Office of the Provost temporarily paused additional Ph.D. offers of admission until the impacts of that cap were better understood,” a Pitt spokesperson said in a statement to WESA.

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[MichMan]

1. What amount of endowments are they sitting on?

Oh, its $5.49 billion