As Georgetown University combats federal funding cuts and drops in graduate enrollment, various austerity measures, such as a hiring freeze and spending reductions, will continue into the Spring 2026 semester. 

In early December, the university projected a financial loss of between $91 million and $112 million throughout fiscal year 2026. To reduce spending, the university downsized Ph.D. admissions, instituted temporary hiring freezes for most positions and limited merit salary increases for faculty and staff beginning in April 2025.

In two Dec. 9 town halls for faculty and staff, Groves said external financial challenges are compelling Georgetown’s cost-saving measures.

“We are collectively suffering from a set of very powerful forces that are out of our control,” Groves said at the town halls. “It’s not much solace, but Georgetown is not alone in this. This doesn’t comfort our families and ourselves; I get this entirely.”

“In my current personal opinion, we don’t see a quick recovery from the actions of the current federal administration,” Groves added.

The budget restrictions have come amid the Trump administration’s reductions in federal higher education funding and its immigration restrictions, leading to a decrease in international student enrollment. In 2024, federal research funding accounted for $195 million out of the $1.8 billion the university had in that fiscal year’s budget, according to Groves. 

Groves first announced university-wide austerity measures in an email to faculty in late April 2025, including the hiring freeze and a pause on most merit salary increases. The April financial measures, initially instituted until Dec. 31, sought to cut $100 million from the university’s fiscal year 2026 budget. 

Compounding the university’s finances, Georgetown faces a $17 million decline in graduate student tuition revenue as of November, in large part due to a 20% decline in international student enrollment. The international student graduate population dropped to 1,780 students in Fall 2025 from 2,170 the previous year. Despite the drop in international student enrollment, overall graduate student enrollment decreased by only 3% in Fall 2025. 

Groves said changes in international graduate student enrollment are due to both immigration policies and tuition costs. 

“We have experienced new declines in graduate tuition revenue, although this outcome is not uniform across all graduate programs,” Groves wrote in a Nov. 24 email. “This trend is driven by a combination of new visa and immigration policies and broader economic pressures facing prospective graduate and international students.”

Groves detailed in the Dec. 9 two town halls that the university was still estimated to face a net loss ranging from $15 million to $36 million. By extending the austerity measures until the end of the fiscal year in June, Groves said the university could face a further $33 million loss or a $9 million surplus if additional budget plans are implemented. 

The hiring freeze, which applies across the university, honored outgoing formal employment offers and timelines for tenure promotions, but halted filling vacancies not considered “mission-critical” positions unless directly cleared with senior administrators, according to a document attached to Groves’ April email. 

The university also paused merit pay increases for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year for faculty and staff making more than $50,000 annually and for the entire fiscal year for executives and administrators earning more than $200,000 annually. At the Dec. 9 town hall, Groves said merit pay increases could be restored for faculty and staff making up to $75,000 per year in the second half of fiscal year 2026.

Sam Halabi, the Georgetown chapter vice president of the faculty union American Association of University Professors (AAUP), said the cost-saving measures seemed unnecessarily proactive.

“I think what the AAUP membership was concerned about was that there was very little transparency about the financial measures announced by the university from the beginning, April 2025,” Halabi told The Hoya. “They were phrased in terms of being anticipatory; they were prophylactic.”

“We understand choices need to be made, there was just very little transparency,” Halabi added.

In response to the university’s hiring freeze and budget constraints, 179 Georgetown University faculty, staff, students and community members signed an open letter to administrators late December, petitioning the university to stop targeting staff members’ salaries and restore benefits lost through budget cuts, such as staff personal time off (PTO). In December, Groves announced an initiative that would allow staff and faculty to submit suggestions directly to the Office of the President.

Kavin Sakthivel (GRD ’26), president of the Georgetown Graduate Student Government, said graduate students are responding pragmatically to the cost-saving measures, understanding the reasons for the budget cuts but also requesting greater transparency in decision-making.

“There is an understanding that financial pressures are not unique to Georgetown, but students are seeking clearer communication and more consistent engagement as decisions are made,” Sakthivel wrote to The Hoya. “Many graduate students would like the University to continue prioritizing funding that directly supports academic progress and degree completion, and to ensure that graduate student perspectives are considered when financial plans are developed.”

In early December, the College of Arts & Sciences also directed departments with doctoral programs to reduce Ph.D. admissions for Fall 2026 and Fall 2027 as a cost-cutting measure, which administrators have warned could affect the university’s Research 1 status, a prestigious designation tied to research funding and doctoral programs. 

In a bid to restore funding, Georgetown aims to launch new international programs to attract international students who fear attending school in the United States. The university also announced in March 2025 a 10% reduction in graduate program tuition for current students, recent graduates and displaced federal workers. 

Sakthivel said the university’s next steps in managing its financial situation will impact the future of graduate programs, citing concerns about the long-term outcomes of the university’s financial plans.

“Long-term, the university’s financial position will influence affordability, access and the overall graduate student experience,” Sakthivel wrote. “If financial constraints persist, it will be important to balance fiscal responsibility with continued investment in graduate education to maintain program quality and competitiveness.”

Groves said the April 2025 restrictions will be necessary through the remainder of fiscal year 2026.

“We help train and educate the next leaders of our world, our students, but we’re going to have to do this revenue growth, admitting that it has to be done in an environment of real cost constraints,” Groves said at the Dec. 9 town hall. “It’s going to be part of our environment for the foreseeable future.”