UChicago Pauses PhD Admissions in 8 Humanities Departments Amidst Financial Pressures

Chicago, IL – The University of Chicago has announced a significant pause in PhD admissions for the 2026-27 academic year across eight humanities departments, alongside reductions in seven others. This move, which also impacts programs in social work and public policy, comes as the institution grapples with substantial financial challenges, including a reported $221 million budget deficit. While debates around PhD programs often center on job market outcomes, faculty members at the university have underscored the broader role of these programs in preserving human knowledge.

Journalist Tyler Austin Harper, who reported on the situation, highlighted this faculty perspective in a recent tweet: > "Debates about PhD programs tend to focus on the job market, but the ~30 Chicago faculty members I spoke to emphasized that PhD programs don’t just exist to train new professors, but to safeguard human knowledge." This sentiment reflects a deep concern among academics regarding the long-term implications of such cuts.

Affected departments within the Arts & Humanities Division that will completely halt admissions include Classics, Comparative Literature, Germanic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures, Slavic Languages and Literatures, South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Visual Arts. Additionally, departments like Art History, Cinema and Media Studies, English Language and Literature, Linguistics, Music (composition), and Philosophy will accept smaller cohorts. The Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice, and the Harris School of Public Policy are also implementing pauses.

University officials, including Arts and Humanities Dean Deborah Nelson, cited "uncertainty and evolving fiscal realities" and the need to be "cautious" about long-term commitments as reasons for the decision. The university spokesperson stated that these "unit-level decisions reflect each program’s specific context and long-term goals, with the aim of ensuring the highest-quality training for the next generation of scholars." Current students' funding and support will remain unchanged.

However, faculty members have voiced strong opposition, with some criticizing the administration for making these decisions without consulting the very committees established to review program structures. Andrew Ollett, an associate professor of South Asian languages and civilizations, called the pause "sad and pathetic," arguing it "represents the domination of one set of values, which is money, over the values that we say that we are pursuing in our lives as faculty members, as educators and as researchers." This move by the University of Chicago mirrors a broader trend across higher education, with other institutions like Boston University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Pittsburgh also scaling back humanities and social science PhD programs due to financial pressures.