Decreases in admission to biomedical science doctoral program leave students uncertain

Amid changes in Ph.D. admissions across the country, faculty and prospective students are left wondering what current and future developments might mean for UNC.

Last month, the UNC Biological & Biomedical Sciences Program announced a preemptive decrease in admissions for their incoming class. While the program has historically admitted around 100 students, they now plan to allow for only 75. 

Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, dean of The Graduate School at UNC, said the decrease in admissions to BBSP was a decision made at the program level, rather than by University administration.

“There's not a University-wide declaration about what should be done with regard to admission numbers,” Mayer-Davis said. "So it really is up to individual schools and programs as they understand the dynamics of the kinds of funding that support their doctoral students."

At the time of publication, BBSP is the only graduate or Ph.D. program at UNC to have announced a reduction in admissions. However, continued cuts to funding across the country at institutions such as Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania have left students feeling uncertain around future education opportunities at UNC.

SPark, a current Transatlantic Masters Program student of political science, said that their program receives funding from international organizations, which they fear could be rescinded. 

“There's also concern about the targeting of these sort of partnership programs as our country really pulls back from international collaboration, so it's just a very worrying thing,” SPark said.

Hoping to pursue a doctorate in political science, SPark is now focusing her search on universities outside of the United States, a shift she said is due to uncertainty around admissions and the current political climate.

While some programs in The Graduate School plan on maintaining current admissions numbers, others are considering making admissions cuts similar to BBSP, Mayer-Davis said. In the most recent application cycle, Mayer-Davis said that UNC Graduate School received a record number of applications.

Even though BBSP made the decision to reduce their admissions on their own accord, Andy Johns, senior associate vice chancellor for research, said the reduction of admissions in the program will have wide-reaching impacts.

“If we accept fewer people to programs like that, we're producing a lot less talent,” Johns said. "That's going to impact the talent that emerges from programs like that, that might stay in the state of North Carolina, to benefit North Carolinians. It's not a good situation, but it's also understandable that if a department or program feels that they're going to be at risk of not being able to financially support its students in a program, I can understand how they might come to that conclusion.”

Cameron Ulmer, a doctoral candidate at the UNC School of Nursing, said in the face of uncertainty, she and her peers are maintaining a general sense of optimism and hope.

Ulmer said the UNC School of Nursing has not announced any changes to its Ph.D. program. She also said that despite a current lack of changes to her graduate studies at UNC, she feels for people across the country who have seen changes in their studies or research.

“I know how much time, effort, research, compassion and care goes into this type of research, and to see it just disappear and to see your work disintegrate, I can't imagine how heartbreaking that must be,” Ulmer said. “I hope I don't face that, but I also recognize that it's just really hard to know what's coming down the road.”

When speaking about potential changes to graduate admissions on the horizon, Mayer-Davis said although she is still uncertain of the magnitude or specific impact of changes, UNC is preparing for a reduction in certain grants, specifically from the National Institutes of Health. 

According to data from December 2024, faculty researchers at UNC receive close to $600 million in NIH funding annually. 

“[Graduate schooling] is where we're going to have leaders trained in their fields to innovate, to solve major problems and to then implement those innovations,” Mayer-Davis said. “It's critical that graduate education stay strong.”

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