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Syracuse University’s academic portfolio review lists 93 programs as “sunsetted,” but many were already closed, inactive or restructured before the review’s release.

Of the programs included in a list of impacted programs provided to The Daily Orange by the university, 55 had zero enrolled students. But some appeared in the findings only because they remained in the university’s New York State Education Department inventory despite being long inactive, an SU spokesperson later told The D.O.

“These programs were still listed on our official NYSED inventory, hence why they were included as part of this inventory cleanup process,” a university spokesperson said.

Provost Lois Agnew wrote that no faculty positions have been identified for elimination and all 258 students currently enrolled in paused or closed programs will be able to complete their degrees.

The portfolio review, announced by Agnew in August 2025, directed deans across SU’s 13 schools and colleges to evaluate programs using enrollment trends, course data and faculty information. In September 2025, SU paused admissions to 18 College of Arts and Sciences majors, removing them from the Common Application while the review continued. Agnew released the final outcomes Wednesday.

The D.O. reviewed SU’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness April 2 report and spoke with faculty across multiple schools. Here is what the D.O. found so far:

Several programs previously changed names or degree types

Eight programs listed as “closing” had already transitioned to a new name or degree award type. While the programs will continue, only their previous designations are being removed from SU’s state inventory.

Three Newhouse graduate programs were replaced by Master of Science degrees before the review: the advertising M.A., the television, radio and film M.A. and the photography M.A. These programs became the multimedia, photography and design M.S., and the new media M.S. was renamed the advanced media management M.S, respectively. All four new programs currently have students enrolled.

The inclusive elementary and special education teacher preparation B.S. at the School of Education underwent a name change in 2024. It now continues as the inclusive childhood education B.S, according to the report. Professor of educational leadership George Theoharis at the School of Education said it is one of the school’s largest and longest-running undergraduate programs.

In Arts and Sciences, the earth sciences B.S. appears on the list, but the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences made that change independently and before the portfolio review, Department Chair Gregory Hoke said.

The department split the earth sciences B.S. into two new degrees — an environmental geoscience B.S. and a geology B.S. — and chose to “sunset” the original B.S. as part of that transition, Hoke said. The earth sciences B.A. was retained and is still available to students.

At Falk College, the nutrition science B.S. and M.S. were closed at an August 2025 faculty meeting, seven months before the portfolio review results were released. The closures followed declining enrollment and overlap with the existing nutrition major. A nutrition B.S. and an accredited nutrition M.A. remain available to students, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Graduate Programs Director Sudha Raj said.

Many programs are being consolidated

Several programs listed on the report are being absorbed into new or restructured offerings, meaning students can still pursue those subjects under a different major.

The French and Italian B.A.s will consolidate into a rebranded world languages and cultures B.A., a revised version of the existing modern foreign language B.A. The new major offers tracks in two combined languages or a single-language focus paired with a linguistics or world literature course, according to the report.

The German B.A. is also listed on SU’s report as consolidating into the world languages and cultures major, but German Program Coordinator Karina von Tippelskirch said her department chair told her the German B.A. would be closed, with only the minor remaining as a track within the new major. The major was initially designated as “sunsetting” in a March 20 email from Arts and Sciences Dean Behzad Mortazavi obtained by The D.O.

“Why the B.A. in German is listed in the World Language and Culture B.A. is a riddle to me,” von Tippelskirch wrote in a statement to The D.O.

Also in Arts and Sciences, the history of architecture B.A. will merge with art history to form a new history of art and architecture B.A. The statistics B.A. and B.S. are closing as standalone degrees but will continue as tracks within SU’s applied mathematics major, according to the report.

Three bachelor of music degrees at VPA — in performance, music composition and sound recording technology — are listed as closing but will continue under a revised bachelor of science in music that includes flexible pathways covering all instruments, program coordinator José Calvar wrote. Degrees in music industry and music education will continue, he said.

Ceramics, painting, printmaking and sculpture B.F.A.s will continue as concentrations within a consolidated studio arts B.F.A in VPA. Associate Professor Chris Wildrick said those programs had effectively been merged years ago, making the formal closure a procedural step.

“We all thought those programs were officially deleted many years ago,” Wildrick wrote.

Roughly 25 active programs are closing

Twenty-six active programs across the university are closing as a result of the review, including two majors that currently have no students enrolled: digital humanities and modern Jewish studies.

Nine of those are undergraduate majors in Arts and Sciences. It will no longer accept new students beginning in fall 2026, according to the March email from Mortazavi.

Those majors are:

• Classical civilization
• Classics (Greek and Latin)
• Digital humanities
• Fine arts
• German
• Latino-Latin American studies
• Middle Eastern studies
• Modern Jewish studies
• Russian

Courses in those nine subjects will continue through minors, general education requirements and interdisciplinary programs, Mortazavi wrote.

Four Arts and Sciences certificate programs with no enrolled students are also closing, according to the report.

Outside of Arts and Sciences, the innovation, society and technology B.S. in the School of Information Studies is closing due to what SU described as “substantial overlap” with the school’s information management and technology B.S.

Eight iSchool certificate programs are also closing, including data science, cloud management and information security management offerings. The online M.S. in information systems is closing due to “online program restructuring,” and two information technology management certificates are ending as an “extension of existing master’s curricula.”

The College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Setnor School of Music M.M. in voice pedagogy is ending after roughly a decade of operation. The program went through several stages during the review — first being paused, then encouraged to re-envision, then discontinued — coordinator Kathleen Roland-Silverstein wrote.

“It has been distressing and disheartening to see this turn of events. We survived the pandemic, and were building towards a stronger, healthier degree program,” Roland-Silverstein wrote in a statement. “But, I am grateful for the tremendous work done through our program.”

At the College of Law, the doctor of juridical science in law — abbreviated as S.J.D. — is closing, though J.D. and LL.M. programs remain available.

Eight advanced certificate programs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs are also closing due to “operational and demand alignment,” per the report:

• Civil society organizations
• European Union and contemporary Europe
• Health services administration and policy
• Latin American and Caribbean studies
• Leadership in international and non-governmental organizations
• Middle Eastern affairs
• Public management and policy
• South Asian studies

In the College of Professional Studies, five certificate programs are ending, including eSports gaming and healthcare administration. Two others appear on the list due to inactive program record maintenance. The applied data and predictive analytics Bachelor’s in Professional Studies, a graduate degree abbreviated as B.P.S., and the full stack development certificate are “paused and in review for further direction,” per SU’s report.

Some programs were already closed

Twenty-three programs on the list of closing programs were already closed, inactive or dormant before the portfolio review began or concluded.

At VPA, Bachelor’s of Fine Arts programs in art video, fiber and textile arts, special studies in art and history of art were already closed before the review, as was the M.F.A. in art video, according to the report. Maxwell’s social science Ph.D. had also closed prior to the review.

At Falk College of Sport, the applied human development and family science M.A. closed as part of a broader transition in which the Department of Human Development and Family Science moved to Arts and Sciences. The sport venue and event management M.S. stopped admitting students before the review began, according to the report.

At the School of Education, professor of educational leadership George Theoharis said several programs stopped admitting students years before the review. The educational leadership M.S. and its advanced certificate, the school district business leader certificate and several other certificate programs all appear on the list but had already been dormant, Theoharis confirmed.

“These were all things that we had done way before this portfolio review,” Theoharis said.

The citizenship and civic engagement B.A., listed as unassigned in SU’s data, was retired in 2025. In its place, Maxwell created an Office of Civic and Community Engagement and a minor in civic and community engagement.

In Arts and Sciences, the ethics B.A. and B.S. were already in a teach-out period, which the philosophy department initiated before the review concluded. Philosophy professor Ben Bradley wrote in a statement to The D.O. that the decision was made independently of the review.

“The decision to sunset the major will not affect our course offerings,” Bradley wrote.

The general studies in management B.S. at the Whitman School of Management had no enrolled students and appeared on the list due to “inactive program record maintenance,” the report said.

“From what I understand, this program has not been active for years,” Department of Management Chair Lynne Vincent wrote in a statement to The D.O. “Its purpose has been served by other programs.”

At the College of Engineering and Computer Science, four programs are listed as closed due to zero enrollment, including the M.S. in computational journalism and systems and information science degrees.

Two additional listings — the “C.E.” in computer engineering and the “E.E.” in electrical engineering — are duplicate program records with no enrolled students, assistant teaching professor Jean-Daniel Medjo wrote in a statement to The D.O. The university’s B.S. degrees in both fields are not affected.

Enterprise Editor Julia Boehning and Senior Staff Writer Kate Jackson contributed reporting to this story.

Published on April 6, 2026 at 12:55 am
Contact Samantha: saolande@syr.edu