The University of Texas at Austin has stopped accepting new students into three majors. These are Women’s and Gender Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, and African and African Diaspora Studies. A university spokesman confirmed this to Fox News Digital. The move removes these options from admission applications. Current students can still finish their degrees. This is a concrete shift at one of America’s largest public universities.
The numbers behind these programs are very small. Data from the Austin American-Statesman shows only 307 students were enrolled across these and related fields. That is less than one percent of the student body. There were 44,315 undergraduates enrolled in fall 2025. Imagine a stadium filled with thousands of fans. Only a handful of seats belong to these majors. The enrollment is tiny compared to the whole.
Pressure from state officials likely played a role. Republican leaders have questioned how the university handles race and gender topics. The University of Texas System reviewed courses for legal compliance. They checked alignment with Board of Regents priorities. An internal email suggests the coursework may not disappear entirely. Instead, the university plans to consolidate the subjects. The majors are gone, but the content might stay.
Lisa Moore, the chair of women and gender studies, defended the field. She said these studies transformed the humanities. She argued we cannot unknow what we know. Her view represents the traditional academic stance. Conservatives see it very differently. They argue these programs lack viewpoint diversity. They claim the focus is on political ideology rather than truth.
Timur Kuran, a professor at Duke University, noted the trend. He wrote that ethnic and sexuality studies are captured by activists. He predicted other universities would follow UT Austin. History supports this prediction. Texas A&M University has already scaled back similar programs. Wichita State University made cuts too. The University of Iowa and the University of Toledo did the same. This is a growing pattern across red states.
Critics of these programs are vocal. Steve McGuire of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni called the decision responsible. He believes it protects educational standards. J.D. Haltigan called the programs leftist delusions. He argued they have no place in truth-seeking institutions. Varad Mehta urged every red state to follow suit. The sentiment is clear among conservative observers.
The Trump administration has also proposed changes. They want to strip tax-exempt status from schools using race-based programs. This adds federal pressure to state-level actions. The money trail is becoming harder for these departments to ignore. Tax benefits are tied to compliance with certain laws. Universities must decide what they value more.
UT Austin did not respond to further questions on Friday. The decision stands regardless of their silence. The majors are closed to new applicants. The shift signals a broader reckoning in higher education. Students now have fewer options for these specific paths. The landscape of liberal arts education is changing. Facts matter more than ideology in this new era.