The University of Texas at Austin will remove all Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies courses from its core curriculum requirements next semester, according to an announcement by Department Chair Danielle Clealand. The provost’s office has rejected the department’s eligibility to count toward undergraduate core requirements, a move that also eliminates dozens of race-focused courses from the academic core.
The decision affects courses including Mexican American Women from 1940—Present, Women and the Holocaust, Intro to African American Women’s History, LGBTQ Literature and Culture, and Native American Women’s History. The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies itself will be consolidated into the Social and Cultural Analysis Department alongside African and African Diaspora Studies, Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, and American Studies.
This shift follows a broader academic realignment under UT Austin’s transition to a new core curriculum framework launching in fall 2028. Under this model, all students will require courses in Western civilization, humanities, and artificial intelligence while additional courses are excluded from the core requirements. The university previously noted that the decision was part of refining academic offerings after the provost’s office rejected WGSS courses’ eligibility to count toward the core.
The change has drawn immediate criticism from former WGSS Chair Lisa Moore, who labeled the move “blatant viewpoint discrimination” and a “singling out” of her field. The university also highlighted that while these courses remain available for enrollment, they will no longer fulfill core requirements—a shift that contrasts with Hungary’s 2018 ban on gender studies programs across its universities.