U. Houston Might Remove Women’s Studies, LGBT Studies, Other Courses From Core Curriculum

U. Houston Might Remove Women’s Studies, LGBT Studies, Other Courses From Core Curriculum

Higher education would be vastly improved if these types of courses were removed everywhere.

Campus Reform reports:

University of Houston may strip 100 courses from core curriculum under Texas law

The University of Houston is considering removing nearly 100 courses—including classes on women’s studies, LGBT studies, ethnic studies, climate change, and black liberation theology—from its core curriculum as part of a review required under Texas Senate Bill 37.

If approved by the University of Houston System Board of Regents, the proposal would remove core designation from roughly 40 percent of the university’s general education offerings while leaving the courses available as electives or major requirements.

Senate Bill 37, signed into law in 2025, requires governing boards at Texas public universities to review their core curricula every five years and certify that courses meet state standards for foundational knowledge, civic engagement, and workforce preparation. The law also expands governing boards’ authority over curriculum oversight and limits faculty senates’ role in certain academic governance decisions.

A university curriculum review committee examined nearly 260 core courses during the winter and spring semesters before recommending that about 160 remain in the core curriculum and roughly 100 lose their designation.

Courses recommended for removal from the core curriculum include “Introduction to Women’s Studies,” “Introduction to LGBT Studies,” “Introduction to Ethnic Studies,” “Black Liberation Theology,” “Mexican American Urban Communities,” “Latino Leadership, Activism, and Organizing,” “Intro to Global Climate Change,” “Sexuality and Society,” “Liberals vs. Conservatives: FDR to Present,” and “Left, Right, and Center.”

Despite the recommendations, numerous courses focused on race, ethnicity, religion, and identity would remain in the curriculum, including “Latina/o Jewish History,” “Chicano History to 1910,” “Chicano History since 1910,” “U.S. Latino/a Histories,” “Lived Hindu Religion,” and “Introduction to Islam.”

University officials emphasized that removing a course from the core curriculum would not eliminate it from the course catalog. Faculty members could continue teaching the classes as departmental electives or as requirements within specific undergraduate majors.

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