A bicyclist rides through the University of Maine campus in Orono in 2021. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel file

The University of Maine, the state’s flagship public university in Orono, is temporarily pausing new job offers to graduate students amid federal and state funding uncertainties, the university announced in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The decision comes after the state Legislature passed a baseline budget with flat funding for the public university system, and amid major changes to education funding at the national level as President Donald Trump works to dismantle the Federal Department of Education and withhold funding from universities over political protests and transgender student-athlete policies. The administration had targeted the UMaine System with cuts earlier this month before quickly restoring funding.

“UMaine has paused all new offers of teaching and research assistantships and fellowships as it assesses what funding will be available in 2025-26 to support those positions,” the statement reads. “The institution continues to make offers of admission and intends to honor any financial commitments already made, although those will remain dependent on available funding.”

The university said it will provide an update to admitted students before the April 15 decision day for graduate programs.

Out of the currently enrolled 3,261 graduate students, 806 of them, or almost a quarter, have paid assistantships according to the university. That position provides stipends, tuition waivers and health care in exchange for teaching undergraduate students.

Samantha Warren, the system’s spokesperson, said that none of the state’s other public universities plan to pause graduate funding at this time.

“UMaine employs the overwhelming majority of graduate assistants in the System, and is most reliant on external funding to support those positions, often related to research grants and contracts,” she said.

In announcing the pause, Warren said the federal government “has slowed making new awards and some of the flagship’s existing grants and contracts are being paused as the new Administration reviews them for alignment with its priorities.” She pointed to a growing number of colleges and universities across the country have instituted hiring freezes in response to federal education funding uncertainty.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a freeze on all University of Maine System funding, about $56 million, in response to results of a Title IX investigation into the system’s policies around transgender athletes. By the next day, the agency reversed its decision.

The investigation followed a public exchange between Trump and Gov. Janet Mills, where she defended the state’s policies and he promised to launch investigations.

The university is currently unable to access funds for a STEM leadership program for female students from rural areas, which Warren has said is occurring because that grant is “under review by that Department for alignment with the new Administration’s priorities.”