After the University of North Texas faced a substantial deficit amid declining international students, the school is cutting programs.
UNT President Harrison Keller wrote faculty and staff, saying the school would close and consolidate some of its academic programs amid “financial challenges facing our university.”
The school is facing a $45 million deficit, $14.2 million larger than expected.
UNT Axes LGBTQ and Gender Studies
UNT relied heavily on international students to drive growth over the last decade, as The Dallas Express reported. But amid federal visa limits, those numbers have plunged since 2024.
“After careful review and consultation with deans, we have made the difficult decision to begin the process of closing or consolidating certain academic programs,” Keller wrote on March 19 to faculty and staff colleagues. “We will support faculty and advisors to ensure these changes do not disrupt our students’ academic progress.”
Students already enrolled in the majors and minors can complete their degrees as planned, but new students cannot enroll, according to Keller. He said officials will provide affected students with more information about their specific programs.
Specifically, UNT is phasing out all linguistics degrees, three master’s programs, one undergraduate major, 25 undergraduate minors, and 21 graduate and 21 undergraduate “certificates.”
The programs being cut include American Studies, “Africana Studies,” Arabic, Latin, Latino and Latin American Studies, “LGBTQ Studies,” and Women’s and Gender Studies.
Keller cited low enrollment in each program.
“Programs were selected after a thorough evaluation of multiple factors, including student demand and enrollment trends, time to value, resource efficiency, and alignment with our mission,” he said. “New programs that are still working to reach their enrollment goals are not included and will have the opportunity to grow.”
The most “substantial” change was the elimination of all linguistics degrees and the merger of the Department of Linguistics with the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, according to Keller. He said the linguistics department had seen declining enrollment since 2021, and the merger would take effect on September 1.
“These decisions are not made lightly,” Keller said. “We are in active conversations with other institutions in our region to design pathways for our students who are interested in pursuing credentials that we do not offer.”
Lower International Enrollment Drops UNT’s Budget
When the UNT Board of Regents met on February 19, Keller briefed officials on the funding shortfall. He said in the last legislative session, UNT lost $32 million in state funding for FY 2026-2027.
“Second, and most immediately, we’ve experienced declines in our international master’s student enrollments,” he said. “We failed to project how sharply those international enrollments would decline due to visa challenges and federal policy changes.”
Keller said other schools had experienced this as well, but the loss “amplified” the university’s financial challenges. As The Dallas Express reported, the shortfall from international graduate programs alone is estimated at roughly $30 million.
“Unlike at some other Texas universities, at UNT, our international students do not displace qualified Texas residents,” Keller said. “Our international students contribute their perspectives and their talent to our community, and that additional tuition and fee revenue they contribute to us is important for our university budget.”
UNT had been increasing its international student population for years, according to a State Department-funded database.
With a total student body of roughly 46,000, the university reportedly had 8,200 international students in the 2022-2023 school year. The next year, the number grew to 11,917 international students.
By the 2024-2025 school year, UNT had grown its international student population to more than 12,982, ranking it seventh in the nation – and making up nearly 30% of the student population.
However, as The Dallas Express reported, the trend has recently been reversing, and the school’s budget has taken a nosedive.
UNT boasted more than 9,000 international students as of June 2024. By November that year, the school’s international students had fallen to 7,400. This number apparently held steady through January 2026.
At the time of publication, UNT’s international student population had fallen again to more than 4,500, just under 10% of the student population.
UNT Regents
The UNT Board of Regents met in May 2025 and discussed declining international enrollment, as The Dallas Express reported.
“Nobody could have envisioned what was going to be happening in international student enrollments,” Keller said at the time.
Regent A.K. Mago suggested one possible solution – recruiting more students from India.
“Regarding international students, I am more than happy to help,” Mago said. “I think most of your students do come from India, so whenever you have time, we can take a trip, and I will still be an unpaid supporter of you there – maybe the chair will approve some money for me too.”
Keller thanked Mago for his partnership at the time and said he looked forward to continued discussions about bringing Indian students.
“And I will encourage some of my wealthy friends to donate some money to UNT,” Mago chimed in.
“That’s always much appreciated,” Keller replied. “Thank you.”
