The University of North Texas announced it will eliminate or merge more than 70 academic programs to close a $45 million budget shortfall. Leadership said decisions were based on enrollment, instructional cost, and alignment with mission; the linguistics department will merge into world languages and its degrees will be phased out. UNT cited a larger‑than‑expected drop in international graduate enrollment and a $32 million decline in state appropriations as drivers of the gap. Officials pledged that current students can complete affected degrees but said new admissions will be closed. The scale of program eliminations underscores mounting fiscal pressure at public universities and raises questions about faculty redeployment, program sustainability, and local workforce impacts as institutions prioritize programs with higher ‘time to value.’