College Black Studies Programs Face Cuts Amid Low Enrollment and Political Pressure
Across the United States, Black and African American studies departments are being reduced or eliminated, driven by falling student numbers and funding constraints.
Recent analysis reveals a nationwide contraction of Black Studies and related departments at higher-education institutions. At least a dozen schools, ranging from private colleges to flagship public universities, have scaled back or eliminated programs in African American, African, or Black studies, often citing low enrollment and budget shortfalls. Federal data through 2025 shows fewer than 700 degrees conferred in these fields for three straight years, the lowest in two decades, even as the number of institutions offering such degrees has risen.
The University of North Texas, facing a $45 million deficit, merged several low-attendance minors, while the University of Iowa shut its African American studies major after only nine students enrolled. Critics link the trend to the Trump administration’s push against DEI initiatives, though some analysts point to market forces. Scholars like Jafari Sinclaire Allen and Erica R. Edwards contend the cuts target the discipline’s critical stance on racism and other forms of oppression.
Why it matters
The decline of Black Studies programs limits academic exploration of race and diversity at a time of heightened political debate.
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