U. Texas at Austin Drops Four Majors Focused on Race, Gender

UT Austin cuts four race, gender studies majors

The University of Texas at Austin is eliminating four undergraduate majors focused on race, ethnicity, and gender as part of a broader restructuring of its academic programs.

UT Austin plans to discontinue majors in African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latina/o studies, women’s and gender studies, and race, indigeneity and migration. The university is retaining American studies and urban studies while directing faculty to develop broader replacement offerings.

Thomas Lindsay, a higher-education policy expert with the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), told Campus Reform that the cuts were “a defensible, if overdue, exercise of stewardship at a public flagship,” while saying UT should disclose the metrics behind its decision.

Lindsay also told Campus Reform that UT should not “simply relocate the same ideological content under a new ‘Social and Cultural Analysis’ label,” following a department faculty proposal calling for a consolidated major.

Some faculty members have criticized the cuts. Julie Minich, a professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, told KUT News that the elimination of the majors amounts to “censorship” and “curtails students’ career prospects.”

Lindsay argued that “standalone majors organized around grievance frameworks do not merit and thus should not enjoy the same claim on public resources.”

Professor Cary Cordova also criticized the decision in The Higher Ed Advocate, writing that “the rule of white supremacy at UT Austin is suffocating.”

As Lindsay noted, public universities should be “accountable to taxpayers and students for cost, demand, completion, and mission alignment.”