Budget Process: Overview

President Karl Scholz and Provost Chris Long have worked in collaboration with academic leadership to establish a vision for the academic enterprise that supports and expands on the direction of Oregon Rising, the university’s strategic plan: 

The University of Oregon will be a public research university designed for human connection, animated by ambitious research concentrated in signature areas that push the boundaries of knowledge and enrich society, sustained by strong graduate programs, and enlivened by an undergraduate education rooted in distinctive learning experiences that lead to meaningful work and fulfilling lives.

Throughout the Fall, the university will be undertaking a process to identify $65M in reductions to avoid an ongoing annual budget deficit in the coming years. President Karl Scholz has identified the following guiding principles for this process, and shared them in his May 2026 message:   

• We will elevate and invest in research strengths that can meet the needs of our communities and industry, attract the best talent, and differentiate this university.    
• We will hire strategically, with a view to make the UO known for leadership and excellence in specific areas of research.     
• We will invest in the quality of the student experience and make the University of Oregon a destination of choice for more students.  

These webpages were created to share both the process by which options are being considered and the principles and larger vision that informs our decisions. 

To accomplish our academic vision, the university must focus its educational and research scope, ensuring both appropriate breadth and differentiated programs. To that end, several ideas are emerging, organized by three threads that tie the vision together: research, graduate programs, and the undergraduate experience. These ideas will be further refined and developed over the coming months, so that a shared vision can inform the difficult budget decisions we have to make.  

1. Research Confluences 

The University of Oregon will not attempt to be comprehensive in every field. Instead, we will concentrate our investments in areas where we can achieve national distinction and where our strengths, geography, and history provide unique advantages. Research confluences are meant to recognize that the way research at the University of Oregon spans a spectrum from the fundamental to the applied and extending into commercialization. 

• Brain, Mental Health, Learning, and Prevention 
• Biotechnology from Molecules to Therapeutics  
• Global Citizenship, Democracy, and Information Ecology 
• Materials, Optics, and Emerging Technologies 
• Indigenous, Pacific, and Place-Based Arts and Humanities 
• Earth, Environment, and Resilience 
• Human Health, Performance, and Sport 

2. PhD Programs

The research confluences of the University of Oregon must be supported and enhanced by a portfolio of strong PhD programs. Strong is not a synonym for large — smallness paired with high publication rate, short time-to-degree, and external grant support is the signature of a healthy doctoral apprenticeship program. In addition, strong PhD programs must be rooted in excellent disciplines and departments. We will adopt a tiered approach to evaluating PhD programs.

3. Undergraduate Experience

To make the University of Oregon a destination of choice in a period of yield compression and increased competition, we must invest in an undergraduate experience that is distinctive, meaningful, and visible to students and families. That means creating an environment where students feel connected and supported, engage with the university’s research strengths, explore across disciplines, and prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Career Communities, a disposition-based core education, and unique programs outside traditional majors will help define and strengthen that experience.