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More than a dozen universities have scaled back Black, African or African American studies programs over the past two years, as colleges cite financial pressures and low enrollment amid a broader push by the Trump administration and Republicans to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The changes range from eliminating majors to merging departments and cutting courses and staff, according to The Washington Post’s research.
The University of Iowa is closing its African American Studies unit and eliminating its undergraduate major. The University of Texas at Austin plans to combine its African and African Diaspora Studies department with three others, while Indiana University is phasing out standalone degrees in African American and African Diaspora Studies.
Universities have pointed to enrollment and budget problems to explain some of the cuts. Nationally, fewer than 700 African American Studies degrees were awarded each year for three consecutive years through 2025, marking the field’s lowest level in two decades, according to federal data analyzed by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and cited by the Post.
The University of North Texas, for example, is projecting a $45 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending this month. The university has attributed the gap to declining enrollment, particularly among international graduate students, as well as reduced state funding for instruction and operations, the Post reported.
UNT also plans to phase out its undergraduate minor in Africana Studies, but the program is among more than 70 programs, minors and certificates the university plans to cut or consolidate as it addresses the shortfall. University President Harrison Keller has said no state official directed the cuts.
But those financial explanations come as the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have moved to dismantle DEI initiatives and place new restrictions on how race and ethnicity are taught.
In Florida, lawmakers have passed legislation restricting how public colleges and universities can teach about race, gender and other issues tied to diversity, equity and inclusion. In North Carolina, lawmakers this year enacted laws banning DEI programs in public schools, community colleges and universities and restricting instruction on certain “divisive concepts.”
At the federal level, the Trump administration directed federally funded schools in 2025 to stop using race as a factor in admissions, scholarships, hiring and other programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The department said schools that failed to comply could face investigations and loss of federal funding.
Some academics told the Post politics is playing a significant role in the cuts.
Jafari Sinclaire Allen, director of Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African American Studies, put it more bluntly. “Politics is the engine, not a factor,” he said. “They are not cutting at the fringe. They are striking the foundations.”
Others argue the changes are simply due to declining enrollment.
Neetu Arnold, a policy analyst at the conservative Manhattan Institute, told the Post that some Black and African American studies departments have moved too far toward political advocacy, making the programs more vulnerable to criticism and cuts.
“It’s hypocritical for department chairs to deride the cuts as political when they’re the ones who have allowed their departments to become highly politicized hotbeds of scholar-activism,” Arnold said.
The Education Department did not respond to the Post’s request for comment on the cuts to African American studies programs.
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