University of Texas at Austin Cuts Women’s and Gender Studies Courses From Graduation Requirements

All women’s and gender studies courses at the University of Texas at Austin have been cut from the school’s core curriculum.

The move was announced to faculty members on Tuesday, September 22 by faculty chair Danielle Clealand, per the Austin American-Statesman. The cut classes will no longer be offered to students looking to complete their core graduation requirements, but will still be offered as electives.

“Dozens of courses on race” were also reportedly cut from the core, per the outlet.

Some of the affected courses reportedly include Mexican American Women from 1940 — present; Women and the Holocaust; Intro to African American Women’s History; LGBTQ Literature and Culture; and Native American Women’s History.

“The pattern is pretty clear,” professor Jo Hsu told the Statesman. “Even within the other (department) units, all courses that referenced women were rejected.”

Other cut classes include Slavery and its Legacies, Urban Unrest, Statistical Analysis of Social Disparities and Building Sustainable Societies — though Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, Black Studies and American Studies, Jewish Women’s Life Writings and Visionary Women all remain.

According to Maria Cotera, another professor who spoke with the publication, faculty was not given a reason behind the decision.

A spokesperson for the school, however, referred the outlet to a core curriculum report drafted by 22 faculty members. It’s their belief that many of the previous options were “quite narrow” and didn’t provide students with a broader education.

“Highly specialized courses have an important place in UT Austin’s curriculum, but not as parts of its core,” read the report.

The cuts come after the university also removed Women’s and Gender Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies or African and African Diaspora Studies as possible majors earlier this month.

Per Cotera, faculty members were also not given any reason for those cuts either.

“In recognition of the changing degree offerings in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, the University is no longer enrolling new students in three majors: Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, and Women’s & Gender Studies,” a university spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time.

They added: “So, as you might expect, those majors have been removed from the University’s admissions applications to avoid new students enrolling in majors that are changing. Students currently enrolled in those majors will be able to complete their degree.”

While no reasoning was given, the Statesman reported earlier this year that only 307 students total were enrolled in African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latino studies, women and gender studies and American studies as majors. As Fox pointed out, that number represented just 1% of those enrolled at the university in 2025.