OU’s modern languages department chair confirmed the department encouraged Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education’s deletion of five language majors for the creation of one consolidated degree.
On Monday, state regents approved the termination of 16 OU degree programs and the suspension of three others. The release wrote that the decision followed a review of 357 low-producing degree programs across the state.
Some of the terminated programs include bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in German, a bachelor’s degree in Chinese, a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and a Doctor of Philosophy in French.
Karin Schutjer, acting chair of the OU Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, wrote in an email to OU Daily Monday evening that the deletion of the bachelor of arts programs was requested by the college’s faculty.
“The Regents did not delete Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Italian BAs as the result of a low productivity study,” Schutjer wrote. “The faculty in those five programs proactively created a consolidated major called World Languages and Cultures with concentrations in those languages that will substitute for the old BAs. (Therefore, we requested the deletions.)”
While the Italian bachelor’s degree was not mentioned in the state regents’ terminations, the degree is also included in the consolidation. The consolidated language programs will still be available through concentrated study tracks, according to Schutjer.
“A concentration is just a distinctive track within a major,” Schutjer wrote. “Thus students can still get degrees in those five languages.”
OU Marketing and Communications confirmed the consolidation of the language programs in a phone call with the Daily Tuesday.
According to Schutjer’s email, each of the language concentrations has been streamlined down to 30 credit hours, a decrease from 33 or 36 credit hours depending on the language, making it easier to pair the program with other majors and minors. This is similar to the structure of other universities’ language departments, Schutjer wrote.
“We created the new major after studying what language programs across the country are doing, …” Schutjer wrote. “It’s the direction most large state universities with a wide range of language majors are headed.”
Schutjer wrote in a follow-up email to the Daily Tuesday that the new major will only impact students who plan to pursue a major degree program in one of the five languages, and minor degrees will not be affected by the consolidation. The department has options for the students who are already enrolled in the affected programs, according to Schutjer.
“Any current student who matriculated at OU prior to the summer of 2025 can choose between the original BA programs and a concentration in the World Languages and Cultures BA,” Schutjer wrote.
Trenton Paris, a piano and French senior, wrote in an email to OU Daily that he was surprised to see French degrees are being terminated.
“I understand that this decision is made based off of enrollment and finances, but it is disappointing to see several language degrees being terminated in this way, …” Paris wrote. “I hope that many of the coursework and learning opportunities will persist despite the lack of a French major. I find language and cultural studies to be a critical way to better understand people from different backgrounds.”
According to Paris, as of Tuesday afternoon, the French department has yet to contact him regarding changes to the bachelor’s degree, but he was aware that the master’s and doctorate programs would be terminated. He wrote he does not expect his graduation to be impacted.
Paris said he plans to use his French bachelor’s degree to market himself internationally.
“I hope to either pursue my studies or career in a French-speaking country so as to continue building my fluency. Though my primary work focus will come from my music degree, the French BA will serve to enhance my skillset and broaden work opportunities, …” Paris wrote. “I also believe degrees like mine greatly expand one’s career opportunities in a very practical sense.”
Schutjer wrote in Monday’s email she is excited about the modern languages department’s future.
“Our next step is to develop a career readiness component to the degree,” Schutjer wrote. “We’re excited about the way that the programs might further evolve through active collaboration and innovation across the language programs.”
Schutjer wrote in Tuesday’s email she hopes the decision will facilitate growth for the language department.
“In (Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics), we’re eager to adapt to changing needs and circumstances in higher ed while staying strong in our dedication to the transformative power of learning a new language,” Schutjer wrote. “We believe the new major demonstrates those commitments.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Anusha Fathepure, Audrey McClour and Thomas Pablo. Kennedy Johnson and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
