UT-Austin Eliminates Four Ethnic, Gender Studies Majors Amid Broad Curriculum Overhaul

The University of Texas at Austin has cut four majors in ethnic and gender studies amid plans to strip 113 “topic courses” of core curriculum eligibility beginning Spring 2027.

African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latino studies, women’s and gender studies, and a planned race, indigeneity and migration major have been eliminated, according to an email to faculty. UT said current students may finish the three legacy degrees, while the department works to propose a new combined major.

The move comes as the Lone Star State’s flagship undertakes a broader overhaul of both degree programs and its core curriculum, Inside Higher Ed reported.

{snip}

The course removals are part of a multi-year restructuring of the university’s core curriculum, driven in part by SB 37, a Texas law requiring that general education courses be “foundational and fundamental” and prepare students for a civic and professional life.

Texas A&M System regents also recently removed more than 200 courses from core eligibility under the law. As at UT-Austin, the removals included courses focused on race and gender, alongside climate change, Bible as literature, and other subjects. University of Houston system leaders in August similarly removed 133 courses from its core curriculum, from “Intro to Global Climate Change” to “Introduction to LGBT Studies.”

{snip}