MIT Biology graduate program reduces incoming PhD class size by 20%
Decline reflects impact of NIH funding cuts on graduate admissions
The MIT Department of Biology has recently decided to reduce the incoming fall 2025 PhD class size by 20%. An exact date of the decision could not be confirmed. Professor Mary Gehring, the Graduate Officer for the Department of Biology, said that the reduction is due to “uncertainty in the federal funding environment.” This decision reflects the impact of the NIH’s proposed funding cuts on graduate admissions; other universities such as the University of Pennsylvania have also reduced or paused graduate admissions altogether in biomedical PhD programs. Additionally, MIT’s National Institute of Health (NIH) T32 training grant, which is used to support pre-doctoral training, is up for renewal.
Given that the current first-year cohort has 34 students, Gehring estimates that the incoming class will have around 27 students as a result of the 20% reduction. Graduate admissions in the Department of Biology is made on a rolling basis starting in mid-February, and the total number of accepted students depends on the estimated yield rate, which historically has “ranged from 40% to 56%.”
In an email to The Tech, Gehring wrote that “no offers are being or will be rescinded” despite the 20% reduction in class size. Likewise, the change did not impact the second open house for admitted graduate students that took place on Feb. 24.
Despite the smaller class size, Gehring remains optimistic about the Department of Biology’s graduate program. “We are committed to our graduate program,” she said. “Training future scientific leaders is a core — or even the core — mission of our department.”
Head of the Department of Biology Professor Amy Keating’s statement to The Tech also echoed Gehring’s sentiments. “We are focused — as always — on recruiting the most talented students and faculty members from around the world to work with us in a stimulating and supportive environment,” Keating wrote.