Since the directive was made over the summer, nearly 100 positions at the university have been eliminated. And students have reported increasing class sizes, fewer teaching assistants, and study abroad programs no longer being offered.

MSU argued when it ordered the budget cuts that the university’s financial trajectory had reached an untenable point. As contributors to a recurring budget deficit, MSU has pointed to rising costs for employee health care, inflation outpacing tuition hikes, and unbudgeted headcount and financial aid spending. It’s also suggested especial financial prudence is needed now amid the federal government’s cuts to research funding.

The State News reached out to administrators and spokespeople at all MSU colleges with graduate programs. Some declined to comment or referred questions to a university spokesperson. The exact number of graduate programs paused in response to budget cuts university-wide is unclear.

According to college administrators and spokespeople, many paused graduate programs are expected to resume admitting students after next academic year. Still, many colleges say they’re reassessing their budget priorities, including graduate programs, meaning some currently offered may look different in the future.

College of Arts and Letters

The College of Arts and Letters has paused or delayed the start of 21 graduate programs for the upcoming academic year, according to a list provided by MSU spokesperson Amber McCann.

A college webpage lists four graduate programs that will still run next year.

In an email to The State News, CAL Senior Director of Communications Jennifer Jimenez said these pauses are, "a proactive and community-centered decision made in coordination with university leadership to ensure the long-term strength and sustainability of graduate education within the college."

Asked specifically about the reason for the pauses, Jimenez said, “Yes, the graduate admissions pause is due in part to university-wide cuts. At present, I do not believe we would have entertained the thought otherwise.”

Kathleen Fitzpatrick, associate dean for research and graduate studies, said in a separate statement that CAL is committed to supporting current graduate students and will spend the year, "working to create new professional development opportunities for them and for the new colleagues that will join them in Fall 2027."

During the pause, the college will conduct a review of all graduate programs to ensure financial stability for their relaunch next fall, according to an informational webpage on the pauses.

College of Education

Four Ph.D. programs and one master's program have been paused in the College of Education, according to McCann and Kristine Bowman, the college’s associate dean for academic and student affairs. Two of the paused programs are due to university budget cuts, as well as cuts to federal grants. However, Pd.D. programs in education policy and K-12 administrative education are paused as they are set to merge — a combination that was planned before the cuts were ordered.

"We are pausing admissions in some programs to just help us take stock of graduate education in the college," she said.

The college will resume admitting students to the paused programs in the fall, Bowman added. The college is also putting together a committee to assess doctoral education in its department while discussing potential grants to help recoup lost funds.

College of Communication Arts and Sciences

At the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, faculty members recently voted to pause the Master of Journalism program, according to School of Journalism Director Tim Vos.

"When we looked at places to cut, we looked at the programs that had low enrollment – that was our master's program," he said.

On top of the budget cuts, the program also was not receiving funding from the graduate school, Vos said, which requires the program to recruit at least 10 students each year in order to qualify for funding. Vos said the program only had six incoming students this year.

"We rely a lot on international students, and it was really hard for international students to get visas and to get into the program, and that's going to happen for a while," Vos said.

He added that he expects the master's program will be reworked by the end of this academic year.

The School of Journalism has also seen some adjustments in other areas. Vos said the school has been working to consolidate its 19 concentrations and minors to around seven in order to streamline the programs while also keeping the curriculum up to date.

"There's some budgetary reasons to do it, but this was a process that was underway well before the budget mandates came down," Vos said. "But we were able to say, 'Hey, we're improving our curriculum overall and making some budget savings in this as well.'"

Journalism Professor Danielle Brown, who teaches visual journalism for the master's program, said she is devastated by the pause, adding that the current understanding of what healthy enrollment for the program looks like "a very high bar for us to try to ever meet."

While she hopes the enrollment standard can be reconsidered, she said the pause was necessary — though it has presented difficulties.

"I talked with one student who was very concerned with how people know about the prestige of the program if the program stops existing, and I don't have an answer to that," she said.

College of Natural Science

The College of Natural Science has paused two programs so far: Astronomy and PRIME, a Ph.D. program on mathematics education. Both will resume admissions next fall.

Amy Ralston, the associate dean of graduate studies for the college, noted these were small programs.

"It's about reducing admissions by five to 10 students, and if that's the size of your whole program, then you maybe want to pause until you know you have the resources to really support the students," Ralston said.

When students are admitted to a program, they have to be supported financially in a variety of ways, teaching assistantships being one that MSU directly pays for, she added.

"And if there are cuts to MSU resources that impacts the number of available TA-ships," she said.

Graduate Employees Union President Jared Maul echoed that sentiment, adding that a reduction in admissions for graduate programs also shrinks "the pool" of available TAs.

In this way, all of the college's programs have been impacted, with most "shrinking back a little next year," Ralston added.

A number of federal grants that have supported graduate students through research assistantships have also been terminated, she added, saying that’s broadly cooled "the temperature of admissions."

College of Social Science

McCann, the university spokesperson, said three Ph.D. programs in the College of Social Science have closed doctoral admissions for Fall ‘26.

The Psychology Ph.D. program is also not seeking applications in several subareas, she added.

Colleges continuing admissions

College of Nursing Senior Communications and Marketing Officer Kristofer Karol told The State News it has not paused any graduate admissions. 

The College of Music has also kept enrollment running for its graduate programs, said Benjamin Ebener, the college’s director of admissions and scholarships. 

Associate Dean of Graduate Programs for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Laura Bix said in an email to The State News, "We do not have a college-wide policy related to graduate admissions in CANR." When asked for clarification, Bix did not respond. 

All other colleges with active graduate programs did not respond to multiple requests for comment at the time of publication or referred requests to university communications.