The University of North Texas has finalized plans to close or consolidate a series of academic programs, including Women’s and Gender Studies, as it works to rectify a structural budget shortfall.
UNT officials announced that they intend to curtail a series of courses and degrees that currently face low enrollment. A merger of the Department of Linguistics with the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures is the “most substantial change.”
In addition, UNT will phase out:
- Three master’s programs due to low enrollment (an average of 15 or fewer students per year over the past five years).
- One undergraduate major due to low enrollment as well as relatively lower time to value and higher cost of instruction.
- 25 undergraduate minors that have average enrollments of 20 students or fewer since 2021.
- 21 graduate and 21 undergraduate certificates that have average enrollments below two students per year.
Eliminated programs include a major in Latino and Latin American Studies and minors in American Studies, Africana Studies, Mexican American Studies, Peace Studies, Asian Studies, LGBTQ Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies.
Students currently enrolled in these programs will be allowed to complete their degrees. The programs will not accept new students.
The changes at UNT follow similar reforms recently announced by UT-Austin, UT-San Antonio, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. UNT is the first taxpayer-subsidized university to explicitly tie its restructuring to budgetary concerns.
This week’s detailed announcement follows President Harrison Keller’s February notification that UNT’s projected deficit for the current academic year had grown to $45 million. Keller further stated that, absent substantial cost cutting, he anticipated those deficits continuing in future years.
The University of North Texas is a component of the University of North Texas System. The UNT system is overseen by a Board of Regents appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Carlos Munguia of University Park is the current board chairman.
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