Admissions to Humanities and Social Science PhD Programs Suspended at Boston University

Boston University will not be accepting applications for PhD students in the humanities and social sciences for the 2025–26 academic year, the institution wrote in an undated post on its website.

The university has not officially announced the change in a press release nor has it fully explained the implications the news will have on applicants and existing programs. The affected programs include American and New England Studies, Anthropology, Classical Studies, English, History, History of Art and Architecture, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, Romance Studies, and Sociology. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences oversees all of the affected academic programs at Boston University.

In an email obtained by Inside Higher Ed, however, the heads of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) put the blame on increased costs associated with the graduate student workers union contract. After an almost seven-month strike that ended earlier this year in October, the student workers won a new contract.

It includes an annual stipend rate of $45,000 with a minimum hourly wage of $20 per hour, an annual salary adjustment of three percent in each year of the three-year contract, expansion of health care coverage, including the addition of dependents under 6 years old at no cost, subsidized dental insurance, childcare subsidies for graduate workers with families, 14 weeks of paid leave for childbirth or adoption for stipend workers, and commuter benefits with the option of a 50 percent subsidized MBTA pass or reimbursement for bike commuters.

Despite Boston University’s reportedly $3.1 billion endowment, a leaked email between the dean of CAS Stan Sclaroff and senior associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Malika Jeffries-EL referenced “budgetary implications” from the new collective bargaining agreement and suggested that the university is leaving the college to cover the cost of the increase long term.

“The provost’s office has agreed to fund the increased costs this fiscal year, including students funded on external grants,” they wrote. “Beyond this year, CAS must work within our existing budget to fund this transition in our doctoral programs.”

The resulting decision is to stop admissions “for all non-grant-funded doctoral programs” over the next academic year and to reduce “cohort sizes of grant-funded programs.” These actions, they believe, “will ensure that we have the financial resources available to honor the five-year funding commitments we have made to our currently enrolled doctoral students.”

Boston University’s executive director of media relations, Colin Riley, emphasized in an email to ARTnews that “Boston University’s task force on PhD education was convened in 2022, and the implementation of the recommendations began this fall.” Riley included a university statement explaining that the decision is “part of our ongoing review of our doctoral programs.” Adding, “these actions are part of Boston University’s commitment to re-envision these programs to allow for their long-term sustainability. This temporary pause and cohort reduction will ensure BU is able to meet its commitments to currently enrolled students and to set up its future programs for success.”

The accepted deal, however, was less than what was initially asked for by the Boston University Graduate Workers Union, which had requested more in compensation, including $17,000 more in annual stipends for PhD workers, as well as a seven percent annual cost-of-living adjustment or adjustments based on the median Boston rent increase, depending on which was higher. The university refused these demands, expressing concerns about the institution’s PhD programs that extend beyond the new three-year contract.

This concern is not uncommon, as PhD programs on a national level have high attrition rates ranging from 36 to 51 percent, depending on the institution, program, area of study, financial backing, and personal factors.

“We are deeply concerned by recent actions taken by the administration to suspend admissions to a number of Ph.D. programs in the humanities and social sciences. While the university has yet to offer a clear explanation for this drastic decision, we reject the suggestion that increased labor costs associated with our graduate workers’ union contract are a contributing factor to this move,” Natalia Berthet Garcia, communications director for the SEIU Local 509 Union, under which the Graduate Workers fall, said in a statement to ARTnews.

“The suspension of admissions to programs such as Philosophy, History, and English—fields where graduate workers play an essential role in teaching and research at the university—raises serious questions about BU’s long-term commitment to these academic disciplines. It is concerning that the university appears willing to reduce opportunities for students in these fields and that there have been suggestions that this decision is tied to the contractual gains of graduate workers,” she continued.

Adding, “If BU truly intends to ‘re-envision’ these programs, it must ensure that any changes are done with the interests of students and workers at the forefront. We remain committed to upholding our contract, ensuring fair treatment of graduate workers, and supporting the academic integrity and accessibility of BU’s programs for all students, current and future.”