University Actions and Budget

No. The University will maintain its current faculty size, focusing on hiring in strategic areas and on assistant professors. Since the University has hired aggressively in the last decade—growing the faculty size by 20% in that period—the intention is to hold steady at this faculty size overall for the near term, which means reducing hiring from the growth rate of recent years by about 30%.

University-wide efforts to reduce faculty administrative responsibilities will help ensure that faculty can dedicate time to the core teaching and research functions that are the priority for all faculty at the University.

The actions announced will not compromise the University’s core mission of delivering a transformative education, including by maintaining small average class sizes and student interaction with tenure-track faculty. The University has maintained an average class size of 18 students for the last 15 years. Similarly, the College’s low student-faculty ratio of five students per faculty member has been stable for most of the last decade and is a reduction from six students per faculty member in 2010. Leveraging our enhanced faculty size and reducing administrative burden for faculty will help ensure that class sizes and student faculty ratios remain at levels that support a transformative educational experience.

Yes. Science units are expected to reduce unrestricted funding dedicated to PhD students to contribute to the University-wide goal. Every science unit is implementing new policies, including reduced enrollment, placing PhD students on grants more quickly, and shortening time to degree to help the University meet its goal of reducing unrestricted funding dedicated to PhD students by 30%.

The list of PhD programs pausing admissions for one year includes: Anthropology, Art History, Cinema and Media Studies, Classics, Comparative Literature, Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, English Language and Literature, Germanic Studies, Linguistics, Middle Eastern Studies, Political Economy, Public Policy, Romance Languages and Literatures, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Social Thought, Social Work, South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Theater and Performance Studies.

Most other programs will be reducing the number of students admitted in AY26-27.

All existing commitments and support for current students (including those incoming for the new academic year), including funding, advising, and research support, will remain in place for them until they finish their programs. 

This action announced by the president and provost, in coordination with deans, applies only to the 2026–2027 academic year.

Yes, in the coming years. Year after year, demand for admissions to the College has grown, reflecting the excellence of offerings for the student who cherishes knowledge, welcomes rigor, and is deeply curious. Over the next four years, the University will continue to invest in the College to ensure that we continue to deliver an exceptional education for all of our students. We believe that there is an opportunity to provide access to that exceptional education for more students, and any growth in the student body would be predicated on having the faculty and resources to continue providing in-person instruction, offering a robust and diverse set of courses in a vast range of fields including computer science, languages, and beyond, and creating new, faculty-led programs of study.

The University’s total debt as of June 30, 2024 was $6.2 billion (or $4.9 billion for the University itself, $1.3 billion for the University of Chicago Medical Center $20 million for the Marine Biological Laboratory). Our outstanding debt has been declining as a share of the University’s budget since FY21, dropping from 101% of total operating expenses in FY21 to 82% in FY24. Debt service (the annual expense we pay for debt, including interest) as a share of total operating expenses has also declined from a peak of 5.2% of the University’s budget in FY21 to 4.2% in FY24. These trends are similar for the University alone. This means that a smaller share of our budget is devoted to paying for past borrowing and more is available for other priorities, and we must continue this improvement. 

The University’s deficit for FY24 was $288 million. The University has run budget deficits for many years, driven by a desire to invest in academic eminence, financial aid, security, and our neighborhood. Those investments have paid off in so many ways, but the deficit was never intended to continue indefinitely. As part of our plan to ensure financial sustainability, in 2024 we committed to return to balanced budgets within four years. In the first year of the plan (last year), we reduced the budget deficit by about 25% despite the headwinds of federal policy changes.

Yes, the University is on track to meet its FY25 budgetary goals. As is customary, the audited financial statement for FY25 will be posted publicly in December.

People across campus have worked extremely hard to meet our deficit reduction targets, and continuing to do so will require ongoing efforts and initiatives. The unprecedented external risks and uncertainty make it all the more important to implement additional measures to moderate spending and accelerate revenue growth.

The University is adapting its financial plan given unprecedented external risks, but still intends to close its budget deficit in the coming years.

The University’s endowment sustains ongoing scholarly and research operations, thanks to generous philanthropy over more than a century. The intentions of those donors are always honored, as dictated both by ethics and law. This means the University cannot simply withdraw restricted funds from the endowment to cover current deficits.

The University took a relatively conservative investment position after the financial crisis of 2008–2009, meaning that earnings on the endowment are lower than they would otherwise be during a booming stock market and higher than they would otherwise be during a market downturn. The University had lower returns than some peers with less conservative portfolios during the strong markets of 2010–2021. The investment strategy is continuously evaluated and updated, with the University gradually shifting its portfolio based on evolving market opportunities.

Contrary to a claim in one news report, the University of Chicago has not lost money on cryptocurrency investments. The relatively modest investment in cryptocurrency has more than doubled over the last 5 years. The University’s investment goal is to supply a steady source of income to help support University programs over the long term, to safeguard the future of the University.

The University’s momentum is clear across multiple measures. We’ve seen record-setting philanthropic support two years in a row, growing demand from top students, and consistent strength in faculty recruitment and retention. Faculty and alumni continue to win Nobel Prizes and other prestigious awards, and our programs are recognized in rankings and through research impact. Taken together, these indicators show that UChicago is not only stable, but thriving.

Deficit reduction actions have affected virtually every part of the University. Essential as the work of the Arts & Humanities is, it’s not true that it pays for itself: the University substantially subsidizes these departments. As at every major research university, the net cost of supporting Arts & Humanities is substantial because faculty research, PhD education, and related activities require resources while generating relatively little external grant support. PhD students do not pay tuition, and undergraduate tuition does not cover these expenses.  UChicago invests in these fields because they are vital to our academic mission, and will continue to do so.

Yes. Administrative units will continue the ongoing work to reduce costs and improve the University’s efficiency. Last year’s staff reductions were mostly concentrated in the University’s support services. These units will also make plans to discontinue some programs and reprioritize resources to ensure that they are focused on the University’s core mission and will continue to look for ways to steward the University’s resources effectively and efficiently.

Yes, over time, though much of this has been implemented already. The University implemented significant personnel actions in the last two years, including a voluntary retirement incentive, layoffs, and position control. These actions have reduced the total number of staff funded through unrestricted funds at the University by around 300 in the last year. There will be actions pursued this year that will result in an additional reduction of 100-150, which will bring the three-year staff reduction to more than 400. Rather than a uniform reduction of staff, positions will more likely be associated with programs that are discontinued or areas where activities will wind down. The aim is to do fewer things well, rather than doing the same things with fewer people.

No. Staff are a critical part of the University’s long-range objectives, and units will be able to hire staff as needed to support priority programming and growth efforts, consistent with their budgets. Additionally, in recognition of the hard work, talent, and dedication of its staff, the University is not contemplating any major reductions to benefits. The aim of the actions is to make targeted choices to discontinue some activities even while others may grow according to priorities.

No – while the voluntary retirement offered in 2024 was successful in reducing growth in costs, the University currently is focusing on other approaches.

As the core teaching, research, and student life space on campus, the central quad embodies the University of Chicago’s efforts to deliver on its mission of providing a transformative education and advancing field-defining research. Renewing these spaces will ensure they continue to remain a vibrant core part of the University’s ability to deliver on high-quality education and research. The scale of this is quite large, so it will take time to do, but the payoff will be large for the entire University.

The revised design reduces the size and budget of NESB. The CQE (quantum) facility remains intact, with its scientific capabilities fully preserved. The building will also include space for PME growth in other core areas, as well as crucial teaching laboratories.

Though details are still being developed, these reviews will draw on input from a range of sources and stakeholders. Some important aspects include intellectual vibrancy and contributions, length of University unrestricted investment, prospects for financial sustainability, and ongoing impact. This type of review will ensure the University continues to dedicate seed resources to centers and institutes that provide distinctive intellectual value to the University.

Yes. Over the coming years, the University expects to reduce the unrestricted funding provided to existing centers and institutes by at least 20%. This means centers and institutes will bear a greater responsibility for securing additional support through grants, gifts, or other revenue sources, helping ensure their long-term sustainability and continued impact, while ensuring that seed funding is available for new endeavors.

The medical system is engaged in related but distinct planning efforts to strengthen the ability of UCMC to advance discovery, medical education, clinical innovation, and transformative health care. Leadership of UCMC will communicate more specifically on those plans over the coming months.