Why Colleges Are Cutting Black Studies Departments, Majors and Classes

U.S. colleges are increasingly slashing their African American studies and related programs, citing low enrollment and limited funding, at a time when the federal government is exerting intense pressure to end racial diversity efforts.

Some academics blame politics, pointing out that Republicans and the Trump administration have taken aim at scholarships, admissions policies and other efforts to boost diversity. At least a dozen schools, including private colleges and public flagship universities, have scaled back Black, African or African American studies programs since Trump signed an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a Washington Post review found.

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Allen, whose institute has surveyed colleagues around the country, says the cuts are so deep that they could damage the pipeline for important research and training for new scholars for years to come.

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Universities that have closed or merged African American studies units over the past two years include the University of Iowa, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Kansas.

Others have eliminated or begun phasing out majors and degrees, including Kennesaw State University, the University of Toledo and Indiana University at Bloomington. Several colleges have also trimmed classes, removed them from the core curriculum or cut staff.

Enrollment in the programs has been falling in recent years, data shows.

For three straight years, students received fewer than 700 degrees in African American studies nationally, the lowest level in the last two decades, according to an analysis of federal data through 2025 by a researcher at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. That’s despite the fact that the number of schools offering degree programs has gradually risen during the same span.

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Low enrollment has made the programs a target for cuts at some schools.

Take the University of North Texas (UNT), which projected a $45 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending this month. The university blamed falling enrollment, especially among international graduate students, and cuts in state funding for instruction and operations.

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To help balance the budget, the school said it would close or consolidate a long list of programs, including undergraduate minors in Africana studies, Asian studies, Mexican American studies, LGBTQ studies, women’s and gender studies, and degrees related to linguistics.

Some states have passed laws requiring schools to review and cull programs that yield few degrees. For instance, the University of Toledo cited such a law in Ohio when it suspended admissions to its bachelor’s program in Africana studies last year.

And the University of Iowa noted that there were only nine students in the bachelor’s program for African American studies when it decided to eliminate the major. It also closed its African American studies program.

But department chairs point out that the cuts are coming at a time when some states have also passed laws restricting courses focused on race or ethnicity.

For instance, a Florida law enacted in 2023 bars core general education classes — select courses required for graduation — from teaching “identity politics.” A North Carolina law passed this year generally bars public universities from requiring courses “related to divisive concepts” involving race or gender. And Texas A&M canceled eight courses, citing new policies governing race and gender instruction. The canceled courses included “Introduction to Race and Ethnicity” and several courses focused on diversity.

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