{
  "id": 17524,
  "title": "Reforms to the PhD?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/29/reforms-to-the-phd",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-07-29T21:43:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Marginal Revolution",
    "slug": "marginal-revolution",
    "url": "https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/07/reforms-to-the-phd.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Trump administration and the National Science Foundation have unveiled a $47 million pilot program aimed at modernizing traditional PhD programs by aligning them with national scientific priorities. This initiative, set to commence this fall, will support approximately 250 four-year doctorates in technical fields, with students spending a significant portion of their time at industry partners conducting practical research that can contribute to their dissertations. The 31 universities and 20+ companies participating in the pilot will each contribute funding towards the initiative, with the NSF covering three years of costs for each participant. Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, emphasized that while substantial amounts of basic research are conducted in both academia and the private sector, the programs that train future scientists have not been updated to reflect this changing landscape. Kratsios highlighted the pilot as a \"scalable model\" that has the potential to expand to more institutions in the future.",
  "summary": "The Trump administration is pairing top universities with corporate giants in an effort to steer traditional PhD programs toward national scientific priorities. Today, the White House and National Science Foundation are announcing a $47 million pilot program to fund around 250 four-year doctorates in technical fields, starting this fall. Students in the pilot will be […] The post Reforms to the…",
  "key_points": [
    "$47 million pilot program aims to modernize traditional PhD programs.",
    "31 universities and 20+ companies collaborate, with NSF funding three years per participant."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}