'Leftist delusions' face reckoning as one of America's biggest colleges makes major shake-up

Texas’ flagship public university is ending new enrollment in three majors focused on gender, sexuality and race in a move that is being hailed by many conservatives as a major victory.

Students applying to the University of Texas at Austin can no longer select Women’s and Gender Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies or African and African Diaspora Studies as majors, the institution has confirmed.

The move follows a slew of other universities dropping similar majors and heated internal deliberations at UT Austin about whether to keep theirs.

"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 spokesman told Inside Higher Ed.

"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," the statement continued.

LIBERAL FACULTY STILL HUGELY OUTNUMBER CONSERVATIVES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: REPORT "I don’t know the particulars of UT Austin’s programs.

But this news is unsurprising.

Across the Anglosphere, ethnic and sexuality studies have long been captured by political activists," Timur Kuran, a professor of economics and political science at Duke University, wrote on X.

"Other state universities, and even private ones, will follow." Low enrollment has been part of the broader debate over the programs, although UT Austin has not publicly said it was the reason for ending new enrollment in the three majors.

Earlier this year, the Austin American-Statesman reported that the university had just 307 students enrolled across the entirety of African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latino studies, women and gender studies and American studies, citing institutional data.

That represents less than 1% of the 44,315 undergraduates who were enrolled at the university in Fall 2025.

UT Austin, which is one of the largest universities in the nation, has also faced growing pressure from Republican state and federal officials over how it handles race, gender and other politically sensitive subjects.

The University of Texas System has reviewed courses on gender identity to assess compliance with state and federal law and alignment with Board of Regents priorities.