The university is facing a projected $45 million shortfall as international student enrollment falls.
The University of North Texas will eliminate or consolidate dozens of academic programs that have seen low enrollment as it aims to close a projected $45 million shortfall, UNT President Harrison Keller announced Thursday.
UNT will phase out four master’s programs, two undergraduate majors and 25 undergraduate minors. Over 40 graduate and undergraduate certificates, which had average enrollments below two students per year, will also close.
“While these decisions are painful, they are part of a broader effort to position UNT for greater long-term stability in an increasingly dynamic time for higher education,” Keller and Provost Michael McPherson wrote in a Thursday email to the UNT community.
The “most substantial change” is the merger of the linguistics department and the world languages, literatures, and cultures department, Keller and McPherson wrote.
University officials cited a “consistent decline in enrollment” in the linguistics program’s undergraduate and master’s programs since 2021. The change will go into effect Sept. 1, 2026, and the university will eventually stop awarding linguistics degrees.
Three master’s programs, three bachelor’s programs, six minors and one certificate are slated for consolidation with other programs.
Programs were selected for elimination based on multiple factors, including student demand, enrollment trends, the average time it takes for students to recoup their degree costs and break even after graduation, cost of instruction and alignment with UNT’s mission, according to Keller.
“We must adapt to meet the changing needs of our students, employers, and communities across Texas and beyond, especially by providing degree and credential pathways that translate into opportunities beyond graduation,” the email read.
Current students will be able to complete their degrees. New students will not be able to enroll in the programs set to close.
A UNT spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for more information on when the programs slated for elimination will close.
The announcement comes a month after Keller announced UNT’s projected budget shortfall, driven in part by a steep drop in international student enrollment amid federal policy changes. UNT saw its international graduate student population drop by half from 2024 to 2025. Keller also cited a $32 million reduction in state funding, which is largely calculated based on enrollment, for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
In February, Keller announced plans to pull back spending and reallocate funds, including buyouts to eligible faculty, hiring freezes and the consolidation or elimination of low-enrollment courses and programs. Faculty could see increased teaching loads and larger class sizes.
Keller recently announced plans to move 40 courses to a hybrid learning model that combines online lectures and small in-person sections this fall in an effort to cut costs. Traditional, smaller academic departments will also move into larger interdisciplinary divisions or schools to reduce administrative overhead costs.
Several of the programs that are closing are in ethnic and gender studies, including the Latino and Latin American studies major. University officials cited low enrollment and “relatively lower time to value and higher cost of instruction.”
Undergraduate minors in Africana, Mexican American, Asian, LGBTQ, and women’s and gender studies are also among those shutting down. Since 2021, these programs have had an average enrollment of 20 students or under, according to the email. A master’s program in women’s and gender studies will also shutter.
The move comes weeks after the University of Texas at Austin moved to consolidate its long-standing ethnic and gender studies departments following months of conservative pressure to eliminate programs deemed too liberal for the state’s flagship university.
Texas Christian University similarly recently announced it will close its standalone departments for comparative race and ethnic studies and women and gender studies in 2026, consolidating the programs into the English department.
TCU officials cited financial reasons and low numbers of students majoring in the programs, while some professors saw the decision as a response to state and federal pressures against race and gender teachings in higher education.
A number of UNT’s arts programs will also merge or close. The undergraduate minors in dance and new media art will shutter. Six minors in the studio art department, including ceramics and sculpture, will be consolidated into concentrations in the major.
When considering which academic programs to eliminate, university officials did not include new programs that are “still working to reach their enrollment goals,” Keller and McPherson wrote. UNT is in conversation with other North Texas universities about establishing partnerships so students can pursue credentials that UNT does not offer.
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