COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M University announced Friday that it will eliminate its women’s and gender studies degree program, citing low enrollment and budget considerations.
The decision comes after a campuswide course review that followed a viral video last fall showing a student confronting a professor over gender identity content. Interim President Tommy Williams, along with College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Simon North and Senior Executive Associate Cynthia Werner, said in an email to faculty that maintaining even small programs requires ongoing investment in faculty time, staff support, and administrative oversight.
The program, which offered a bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, an undergraduate minor, and a graduate certificate, currently has 25 students pursuing a major and 31 pursuing a minor. Students already enrolled will be allowed to complete their programs over the next six semesters, but no new students will be admitted.
The announcement follows a controversial policy from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, restricting how race and gender may be discussed in classes. Faculty are prohibited from advocating “race or gender ideology” or discussing sexual orientation or gender identity unless a campus president grants a written exception for certain non-core or graduate-level courses. Officials have not clarified what constitutes a necessary educational purpose.
As part of the course review, university officials examined 5,400 syllabi for the spring semester and canceled six courses across multiple colleges, including Arts and Sciences, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Education and Human Development, and the Bush School of Government and Public Service. Faculty and department heads revised hundreds of syllabi, and 48 exceptions were ultimately granted by the president for certain courses.
