July 07, 2026
Graduate programs are shrinking at some of the nation’s top research universities.
Citing data from the Association of American Universities Data Exchange, The New York Times reported Monday that the number of Ph.D. students admitted to 55 research universities (all among AAU’s 69 United States–based members) declined 15 percent over the past year.
Enrollment of new Ph.D. students at the 42 universities that responded to AAUDE’s survey has also declined over the past year, falling 11 percent between fall 2024 and fall 2025. But the losses are much higher at some universities. According to the Times, the California Institute of Technology expects to have 40 percent fewer new graduate students this fall, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is expecting about 20 percent fewer new graduate students.
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