UT Removes Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies From Its Core

Aqua RichJo| September 25, 2026

At UT Austin, students may still be able to take classes on Black women’s history, LGBTQ literature and women’s lives. But under the university’s redesigned core curriculum, none of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies courses submitted for review were approved to satisfy core requirements. That is a decision about what counts toward every undergraduate’s foundational education—and who gets to make that call.

Reporting published September 24–25 says the rejected courses include Women and the Holocaust, Intro to African American Women’s History, LGBTQ Literature and Culture and a course on Mexican American women. The department that now houses gender and ethnic studies submitted 49 courses for core approval; 16 were accepted, but none of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies courses made the cut.

Let’s be precise: losing core credit does not mean every affected class has been canceled. Students may still take these subjects as electives. But core approval matters. It shapes which courses students can use to fulfill graduation requirements and which subjects the university presents as part of a common education.

Who decides what counts as foundational?

UT formed a task force in fall 2025 to reconsider its core curriculum. The university says it wants a stronger shared foundation for undergraduates and plans to begin offering new courses in fall 2027, with the redesigned core fully implemented by fall 2028.

A university can review its requirements. The No Chill question is why every submitted course in this field was rejected. What criteria did reviewers apply? How did they assess courses on African American women’s history, the Holocaust and LGBTQ literature? Were the professors who teach them given a meaningful chance to respond?

These subjects are part of history, literature and public life. Moving them outside the core raises a real question about which perspectives UT expects all students to encounter and which perspectives students must choose to seek out. That is an inference about the decision’s possible effect; the university should explain its reasoning course by course.

The change also comes amid UT’s broader restructuring of departments and degree offerings focused on race, ethnicity, women and gender. Those are related developments, but the core-credit decision and the status of a major or class are different questions.

What students and faculty still need to know

UT should publish the review criteria and explain how each course was evaluated. Students need to know when the changes take effect, whether their existing degree plans are affected and which courses will remain available. Faculty and alumni deserve an answer to the larger question: What does UT believe an educated Texan should know, and whose histories were included in that decision?

No Chill News will look for answers from department chair Danielle Clealand, affected professors and students, the provost’s office, task-force members, AAUP representatives, and Black and LGBTQ+ alumni as the final course list becomes clear.

A class can remain in the catalog and still lose a place in the education the university calls “core.” That choice deserves a public explanation.

Reporting basis: Inside Higher Ed’s September 25 report and UT Austin’s core-curriculum information. No Chill News has not independently reviewed every course decision or interviewed UT officials, faculty or students.