Long considered the pinnacle of academic achievement, the PhD is now facing strong headwinds, including reduced federal support for jobs, research and graduate training.

Top AI graduate programs at schools like Carnegie Mellon and Stanford are feeding a field where salaries average over $150,000—with job growth outpacing the broader market.

Sophia Caruana was seeking an interdisciplinary doctoral program where she could pursue her interests in data ethics, AI, and human-centered computing. Kaitlin Boedigheimer was interested in exploring ...