Buffalo State University Announces Significant Program Cuts Amid Financial Challenges

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo State University has unveiled plans to cut 37 underperforming programs as part of a broader strategy to address severe financial difficulties, the institution announced Thursday.

The programs slated for elimination include those in early childhood education, chemistry, urban studies, and several foreign languages such as French, Italian, and Spanish. The cuts extend beyond degree programs to encompass certification titles, concentrations, minors, and certificates.

Effective immediately, 27 of the 37 programs will be deactivated, with an additional 10 under review for possible deactivation by spring 2025. The university has emphasized that these changes will impact only 34 students, representing approximately 0.6% of the student body. These students will be allowed to complete their degrees.

This initiative aims to reduce the university’s $16.5 million structural deficit and optimize the financial support received from Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration for the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

Additionally, Buffalo State has confirmed that the previously instituted 12-month hiring freeze and a phased retirement program will remain in effect.

Despite a 42% decline in enrollment over the past decade, the university noted an uptick in first-time undergraduate enrollment in fall 2023. In response to these trends, Buffalo State has decided to deactivate and discontinue a variety of academic offerings, detailed as follows:

Programs to be Deactivated Immediately:

• Afro-American Studies, B.S.
• Biology Education, certificates (42 and 36 credit hours)
• Chemistry, M.A.
• Chemistry Education, M.S.Ed. and certificates (42 and 36 credit hours)
• Dance, minor
• Design, B.S.
• Early Childhood Education, M.S.Ed. and B.S.
• Foreign Language Education, M.S.Ed.
• French and Francophone Culture, minor
• French Education, B.S. and certificate
• Italian, minor
• Literacy Specialist (5-12), M.P.S.
• Physics, M.A.
• Physics Education, certificates (42 and 36 credit hours)
• Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics, M.S.
• Professional French, minor
• Spanish Education, B.S. and certificate
• Special Studies, B.S.
• Urban Education, M.S.
• Urban Studies, B.A.

Programs Under Review for Deactivation by Spring 2025:

• Applied Math, B.S.
• Ethics, minor
• Gerontology, minor
• GIS, minor
• Mathematical Logic, certificate
• Non-Spanish and Chinese Concentrations, certificate
• Printmaking, minor
• Printmaking Concentration (B.F.A. and B.A.)
• Religious Studies, minor
• Statistics in Insurance, certificate

Buffalo State University remains committed to ensuring that current students in these programs can complete their studies despite the impending deactivations. The administration continues to explore ways to strengthen the university’s financial position while maintaining academic integrity and support for its student body.

Buffalo state universityPhoto byKenneth C. Zirkel