New students enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin can no longer major in studies focusing on Africans and the African diaspora, Mexican Americans and Latinos, or women and gender.

University officials cut those programs, instead leaving it to professors to propose a new major by the end of the semester. Students already committed to those studies may still complete their degrees, a university spokesperson told KUT News.

Danielle Clealand, a professor and interim chair of UT-Austin’s newly created Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, notified faculty of the decision in an email this week.

Officials from the provost’s office, which oversees academics at the school, “rejected our proposal to keep our majors,” Clealand wrote to colleagues.

“The frustration from always receiving bad news weighs on me as I’m sure it does all of you,” Clealand said about the cuts. “I’m here to convey whatever message we want to convey, I just wish I didn’t have to.”

University officials agreed to keep programming on American history and culture, as well as urban growth and development, according to the email.

The decision to remove the now-defunct programs from admission applications “was done without public knowledge, and it appears our dean did not know about this either,” Clealand wrote in a follow-up email to faculty on Thursday. The university website still lists the degree programs.

Representatives for William Inboden, the executive vice president and provost, and UT-Austin’s media department did not respond to The Texas Tribune’s requests for comment.

Until recently, faculty at UT-Austin played a formal role in reviewing academic programs and jobs before they got cut. But a new state law allowed for the University of Texas System, a network of schools that includes UT-Austin, to overhaul that process.

The system’s policy now gives campus presidents wide discretion in determining whether to cut a program. Reasons could include cost, student demand or whether the offering aligns with the university’s mission.

Professors cannot appeal the decision.

The elimination of the majors comes as Texas universities succumb to political pressure from Republican leaders who want to restrict how public K-12 schools and colleges teach race, gender and sexuality.

For example, Texas Tech administrators said professors could face discipline for not complying with a mandate to restrict discussions of such topics. And Texas A&M eliminated its women and gender studies degree program.

Earlier this year, UT-Austin consolidated several departments — including African studies, Latino studies and gender studies — into a single program focused on “Social and Cultural Analysis.” While the university had merged the departments, it kept the majors intact. Hundreds of students currently pursue majors, minors or graduate degrees in those studies, according to records obtained by the Tribune.

The latest decision to cut them now sends a message to students that such programs hold no worth as independent degrees, said Karma Chávez, who chaired the Mexican American and Latina/o Studies department and leads the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

“Students don’t know whether it’s even legal for them to take courses in things about gender or race or ethnicity because there’s so much hostility,” Chávez said. “Even when it’s not an official elimination of their choice, it’s ideological pressure.”

UT-Austin was among the universities asked by the Trump administration to establish strict definitions for gender and eliminate academic departments that federal officials see as hostile to conservative ideas.

Federal officials said they would prioritize funding for the campuses that signed onto the agreement. Jim Davis, the UT-Austin president, later told The Daily Texan that the proposal from the federal government “was meant to collect feedback,” not a mandate that school officials needed to formally sign.

Texas is one of the most diverse states in the country, with Hispanic, Black and Asian Texans making up roughly three-fifths of the population.

Politicians outside of the university and officials from within have sent “clear messages about which students are welcome and wanted on this campus,” said Lauren Gutterman, a professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.

The decision to cut the majors landed days after Bo French, a candidate running for Texas railroad commissioner, defended his racist comments referring to South Asian students at a UT-Austin football game as “a problem.” UT quarterback Arch Manning also made national headlines for laughing at an AI-altered video that depicted head coach Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.

Gutterman said such actions show “why we need these courses and degrees more than ever.”

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