- The University of North Texas plans to close or consolidate 70 programs due to a $45 million deficit.
- A sharp decline in international graduate student enrollment is cited as a primary driver of the shortfall.
- Affected students can complete their degrees via phased teach-out plans as new enrollments are suspended.
University of North Texas moved to close, consolidate or merge more than 70 academic offerings in March as it tried to contain a projected $45 million deficit for FY 2026, a shortfall university leaders linked to falling international graduate enrollment and a cut in state funding.
President Harrison Keller, Ph.D., and Provost Michael A. McPherson, Ph.D., told the campus on March 19, 2026, that UNT would “begin the process of closing or consolidating certain academic programs,” setting in motion one of the broadest academic retrenchments at the school in recent years.
The action affects degrees, minors and certificates across multiple colleges. UNT later revised its Academic Programs Update page on March 27, 2026, to clarify the final counts and the criteria used to classify programs as closed, merged, consolidated or taught out.
UNT placed the budget pressure at the center of its explanation. The university projects a $45 million deficit for FY 2026, which runs from Sept. 1, 2025, to Aug. 31, 2026, larger than the $31.2 million deficit originally budgeted.
Administrators cited two main drivers: a sharper-than-expected Fall 2025 decline in international graduate enrollment and a $32 million reduction in state formula funding for instruction and operations for FY 2026–FY 2027. The University of North Texas also said Texas University Fund money could not fill the operating gap because those dollars are restricted to research uses.
“We weren’t directed to eliminate programs by any state official,”
Keller said in a March 24, 2026 interview, pushing back on the idea that outside pressure drove the program cuts. He also said the academic changes would save only “a few million dollars” over several years, and that the exact amount remained unclear.
In the same interview, Keller said UNT uses a “time to value” metric and aims for programs to reach payback in under 10 years. That measure has become part of the university’s case for deciding which offerings to keep, combine or close.
Enrollment losses appear to be at the center of the immediate revenue hit. UNT officials told regents in February 2026 that international master’s enrollment fell from about 6,200 in Fall 2024 to around 3,400 in Fall 2025, contributing to a projected $47.3 million drop in tuition revenue this fiscal year, about a 10% decline.
The most visible academic change involves linguistics. Keller and McPherson said the Department of Linguistics would merge into the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, effective September 1, 2026, and all Linguistics degrees would be phased out and taught out.
Under the university’s March 27 accounting, four master’s programs will close and move into teach-out status: Media Industry and Critical Studies (MICS-MA), Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST-MA), Linguistics (LING-MA/MS) and Early Childhood Education (ECEE-MS).
UNT also plans three master’s mergers. Creative Writing (ENCW-MA) will merge into English (ENGL-MA), Biology (BIOL-MA) will merge into Biology (BIOL-MS), and Interdisciplinary Studies (INSD-MA) will merge into Interdisciplinary Studies (INSD-MS).
At the undergraduate level, two majors will close and be taught out: Linguistics (LING-BA) and Latino and Latin American Studies (LLAS-BA). Three more bachelor’s programs will merge, with Geography (GEOG-BA) moving into Geography (GEOG-BS), Sociology (SOCI-BA) moving into Sociology (SOCI-BS), and Physics (PHYS-BA) moving into Physics (PHYS-BSPHY).
The reach of the changes widens further in minors and certificate programs. UNT said it will close 24 undergraduate minors and consolidate six minors within CVAD Studio Art into concentrations.
The minors marked for closure are Applied Heritage Management, Dance, American Studies, Geology, Africana Studies, Classical Studies, Mexican American Studies, Peace Studies, Asian Studies, LGBTQ Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Arabic, Italian, Latin, General Engineering Technology, Special Education, Digital Content and Information Systems, Project and Knowledge Management, Computer Education, Team Science, Human Language Technology, Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, and Music Business and Entrepreneurship.
The six CVAD Studio Art minors that will be consolidated into concentrations are Sculpture, Printmaking, Ceramics, Metalsmithing/Jewelry, Photography, and Drawing & Painting.
Graduate certificates face another wide round of reductions. UNT listed 19 graduate academic certificates for closure: Energy, Storytelling, Computational Linguistics, Digital Sociology, Applied Sociology, Interactive & Virtual Digital Communication, Narrative Journalism, Public Relations, Proposal Writing, Hospitality Management, Health Services Administration, Event Management, Data Engineering, Digital Content Management, Autism Intervention, Geographic Information Systems, Community College Leadership, Digital Communication Analytics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Advanced Management in Libraries and Information Agencies, and Children’s & Young Adult Library Community Services.
At the undergraduate certificate level, UNT listed 20 closures: Drug & Alcohol Studies, GeoPhoto: Imaging Technology & Visualization, Retailing, International Business, Arab & Islamic Studies, Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Global Perspectives, Theatre Technologies, Health & Medical Geography, Applied Gerontology, Risk Management & Insurance, Jain & India Studies, Green Leadership, Omnichannel Strategy, Spanish Language Media, Fashion Entrepreneurship, Health Professions Student Development, Mathematics of Scientific Computation, Urban Studies, and Food Studies.
The university also said Integrated Resort Management will merge with Hotel Operations. In public summaries, UNT and others had described the move as affecting “more than 70” offerings, but the March 27 update set out the university’s final count and clarified how it was tallying closures, mergers and consolidations.
That clarification matters because the numbers shifted as the school refined its categories. UNT’s March 27 page lists 24 minors and 39 certificate closures, while earlier public descriptions had used different totals.
For students, the immediate message from the university was twofold. “New students will not be able to enroll in these majors or minors,” UNT said, while students already in those programs “will be able to complete their degrees as planned” through teach-outs.
Administrators also said UNT is discussing regional pathways with other institutions for students who want credentials the university will no longer offer. Degree closures still require external approvals before final implementation.
UNT’s accreditation procedures say closing a degree program requires prior approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board before final closure and before last admissions. Those processes also require teach-out planning.
Alongside the program changes, UNT is reshaping course delivery and faculty staffing. Beginning in Fall 2026, more than 40 courses will move to hybrid delivery, with online lectures paired with smaller in-person sections.
Those hybrid courses will carry an extra $35 per credit hour technology fee, capped at $315 per semester. The university said the charge will fund technology costs tied to the new format.
Budget-cutting measures extend beyond academics. UNT said it will increase teaching loads and minimum class size, freeze some vacant positions, reorganize units and shift large-enrollment courses into hybrid instruction.
Faculty and staff have also been offered a buyout path. The Voluntary Separation Program opened Feb. 23, 2026, and applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on April 10, 2026.
McPherson’s office said the program is open to employees with at least 15 years of continuous service by Aug. 31, 2026, if they hold eligible appointments that include tenured positions, administrators with tenure, or certain professional faculty roles. The provost’s office held an information session on March 26, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The timeline of announcements came quickly. Leadership opened the process on March 19, Keller publicly discussed the rationale and the expected savings on March 24, and the university revised its Academic Programs Update on March 27 with final counts and category definitions.
The pace has left faculty and students tracking both budget numbers and approval timelines. SACSCOC’s published deadlines, including a July 1, 2026 submission deadline for changes implemented between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2027, shape how quickly departments can complete closures and mergers.
UNT’s own account suggests the academic cuts alone will not solve the problem. Keller’s estimate of “a few million dollars” in savings over several years falls well short of the $45M deficit the school projects for FY 2026, meaning the University of North Texas is relying on multiple measures at once.
That is why the program reductions sit beside staffing changes, higher teaching loads, frozen vacancies and new course fees. The university’s response is broader than a single round of academic cuts, even if the trimming of 70+ programs has drawn the most attention.
For now, UNT has framed the changes as a teach-out rather than an abrupt shutdown. Students already enrolled can finish, but the university is closing the door to new entrants in affected majors and minors as it tries to steady finances before the next academic year begins.
