The University of Houston has cut roughly 40 percent of courses from its core curriculum to comply with a new state law dictating the architecture of general education requirements at Texas public colleges. In the 2026-27 academic year, the flagship institution will adopt a list with about 100 fewer classes after the University of Houston System’s board unanimously approved administrators’ proposal on Thursday. Among the classes dropped were offerings in women’s and LGBT studies.
State law drives massive changes. The overhaul is intended to satisfy the Texas statute known as SB 37, which mandates that core courses be “foundational” to postsecondary education, prepare students for the workforce and civic life, and cover “a breadth of knowledge.” The law requires institutions to reduce the total number of courses that can satisfy general education requirements while ensuring that those remaining meet specific criteria. The core revamp removes a large number of options students can use to fulfill their undergraduate degree requirements.
The changes came under fire from some faculty members during the board meeting, who argued that administrators had a heavy hand in the curriculum review process and that the cuts could negatively impact undergraduate education at UH. Richard Armstrong, a professor and director of the flagship’s classical studies program, said the overhaul eliminated five out of his department’s six core-eligible courses without explanation.
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“I have no idea why the one was kept and the others were cut out,” Armstrong said. He pointed to a popular class about heroes in Greek and Roman mythology that was nixed from the core. He urged for more faculty involvement in the core curriculum redesign.
Dona Cornell, the system’s general counsel, responded that faculty and academic leadership had been consulted during the review process. She added that some courses were removed as core options because they had low enrollment or were no longer being offered. Cornell affirmed to the board that the new course list complies with SB 37. She noted that courses dropped from the core will continue to be offered, and that a process exists for departments to request a course added back to the core.
The system board also made changes to the core curriculum offerings for its other two institutions, though less dramatically. The number of University of Houston Downtown’s classes eligible as core courses dropped from 98 to 87, while the University of Houston Clear Lake lost just one.
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Broader trends in higher education are visible. Passed last year, SB 37 is reshaping core curriculum across the state’s public institutions. Earlier this month, the University of Texas at Austin announced a massive overhaul to its core curriculum framework. Along with SB 37 compliance, the UT Austin changes are meant to narrow the number of courses its undergraduates are required to take while also providing a broad education in fundamental human questions over history.
The university is still working on its actual course list, and leaders expect to begin piloting core courses next fall. As in Texas, other Republican states, including Florida and Iowa, are looking to have a firmer hand in shaping general education at their public colleges or empowering political appointees to oversee core curriculum. The Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, has published model legislation that could act as a blueprint for red states to shape foundational curriculum — historically a responsibility left largely to faculty and institutions.
