The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) announced structural changes to seven departments focused on ethnic and gender studies. The university is merging them into two new departments, which has left some students and faculty uncertain about their academic future.
The changes at UT Austin are expected to go into effect in fall 2027
The dean of the College of Liberal Arts announced the news in a 30-minute meeting with department chairs on Thursday, according to KUT News. University president Jim Davis then confirmed the expected changes in a letter to the UT community.
The departments of African and African Diaspora Studies, American Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, as well as Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, will all be consolidated under a single new Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Changes will also be made to the departments of French and Italian, Germanic Studies and Slavic and Eurasian Studies, which will be consolidated into the Department of European and Eurasian Studies.
The process is expected to be finalized by next fall, although a university spokesperson said there’s currently no official timeline for the restructuring.
The changes were made after a review found “some significant inconsistencies and fragmentation across the college’s departments,” Davis said.
“Of course, students already enrolled in the departments being consolidated can continue to pursue their degree programs within the new departments while the curriculum review and departmental change is underway,” he added.
The university also said it started to review curriculums in order to decide which majors and minors to keep within the two new departments. It is unclear what the review will entail and how curriculums will be affected. It is also unknown how the changes will affect institutes, research centers or staffing.
Some UT Austin students and faculty are concerned over the changes
The Texas Tribune reports that over 800 UT Austin students will be affected by the changes..
“This is a sad day for UT students. Rather than bringing the state’s next generation into the future, our leaders are taking a giant leap backwards,” Julie Minich, a Mexican American and Latino Studies and English professor, told The Texas Tribune. “UT is reversing roughly fifty years of intellectual progress and innovation. If the goal is to make sure UT is no longer a global leader in higher education this is a great move.”
Karma Chávez, another professor in the department, said the changes may be a form of restriction of academic freedom.
“In one way, it already is sort of an encroachment on our academic freedom,” she told KUT News. “It’s also potentially going to be a threat if, from the top down in these curriculum reviews, certain classes are unable to be taught even though they’re based in research and in a faculty member’s area of expertise. So I think the implications on academic freedom are quite grave.”
She highlighted recent changes that have been made at institutions across the country regarding the study of topics of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“We’re seeing a nationwide trend in attacks on ethnic and gender studies and attacks on American studies departments that those on the political right view as providing a view of both history and contemporary society that they don’t like, because it provides an analysis of this work specifically around issues like race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity,” Chávez added.
The university recently created an Advisory Committee on Administrative Structure to consider changes made to the Liberal Arts college. Daniel Brink, the college’s associate dean for academic affairs, announced the possibility of “loss of autonomy for small units” without adding detail.
The news also comes as Texas A&M University cut its women and gender studies degree program in January. A month prior, the Texas Tech University System banned professors from promoting race or sex-based “prejudice” or mentioning the existence of more than two genders, per KUT News. The University of Houston also replaced its women and gender resource center with a parent and family office.
There is currently no state or federal law banning instruction on race, gender or sexual orientation at universities. Senate Bill 17, which was passed in 2023, banned DEI offices but exempted teaching and research.