Departments

• As of fall 2023, approximately 276 departments were awarding degrees in race and ethnic studies at colleges and universities in the United States. These departments included large, freestanding departments in the discipline as well as programs within departments awarding degrees in multiple disciplines. In the latter case, the department chairs were asked to report information for race and ethnic studies only.
• Of the 276 departments awarding degrees in race and ethnic studies, 71 (26%) were awarding graduate degrees in the subject, with 40 (14%) awarding PhDs in the discipline..

Faculty

• Race and ethnic studies departments employed 3,080 full- and part-time faculty members in fall 2023, with an average of 11 faculty members per department (and a median of 10).
• Approximately 70% of race and ethnic studies faculty members either had tenure or were on the tenure track.
• Faculty members employed full-time with tenure or on the tenure track taught an average of 29 undergraduate students in fall 2023, while full-time faculty employed off the tenure track taught an average of 49 undergraduates. Faculty employed part-time taught an average of 26 undergraduate students during that fall term.
• While 50% of race and ethnic studies departments had made at least one new hire for the 2023–24 academic year, amounting to 220 new permanent faculty members, the departments collectively lost an average of 260 faculty per annum over the previous two years. Among the faculty who left, 31% had retired (the smallest share among all disciplines in the survey).
• An estimated 37% of race and ethnic studies department chairs thought the number of tenure-line faculty in their department had increased from fall 2020 to fall 2023 (the largest share among the 14 disciplines in the survey), while 28% estimated that their tenure-line faculty count had decreased. In addition, 37% of chairs thought the number of nontenure-track faculty had increased over the same period, while 16% reported that the number decreased.
• Looking ahead, 54% of chairs expected the number of tenure track faculty to increase in their departments, the largest share among the 14 disciplines in the survey. About 15% thought the number would decrease. (The remainder thought the most likely outcome would be no change or were not sure what would happen.) In contrast, 17% thought their nontenure-track faculty count would increase, while 19% thought the number would shrink.
• About 39% of the departments had a faculty member come up for tenure during the previous two years. Averaging over these two years, 70 faculty were granted tenure per annum nationwide, none were denied tenure, and 40 left prior to a tenure decision.
• Because it is not appropriate for a person to assign a demographic identity to another person, the survey did not ask department chairs to report their faculty members’ races or genders. However, the survey did ask chairs to describe themselves. Women constituted 51% of the chairs in race and ethnic studies departments in fall 2023, and 20% identified their race/ethnicity as white (the smallest share among the 14 disciplines surveyed).

Undergraduate Students

• In fall 2023, departments that awarded degrees in race and ethnic studies had undergraduate course enrollments of 94,840, with an average enrollment of 344 per department. (These are duplicated enrollment figures, with students taking multiple courses in the discipline counted in every course.) The average is skewed upward by large programs, typically at research universities, which had significantly larger-than-average enrollments, as indicated by a median enrollment of only 303.
• Approximately 73% of race and ethnic studies department chairs thought undergraduate enrollments had held steady or increased from fall 2020 to fall2023.
• On average, race and ethnic studies departments awarded 9 bachelor’s degrees per department in the 2022–23 academic year (with a median of 6 per department). These departments had an average of 15 juniors or seniors with a declared major in the subject (and a median of 10).
• In the 2022-23 academic year, race and ethnic studies departments awarded an average of 17 minors in the subject (with a median of 10 per department) and 11 certificates or other microcredentials per department (with a median of 4.5). While 61% of departments reported awarding minors, only 33% awarded a certificate or other microcredential.

Graduate Students

• Degree-granting departments in race and ethnic studies had 2,080 enrollments in graduate courses in fall 2023, with an average of 29 enrollments (and a median of 23) per department with a graduate program.
• Approximately 1,070 students were working toward graduate degrees in race and ethnic studies. The average number of students pursuing an advanced degree in race and ethnic studies was 15 (with a median of 16) per department that granted such degrees.
• The 40 departments awarding PhDs admitted an average of 3 new doctoral students into their programs in fall 2023, for a total of 120 new doctoral students in the discipline.

Departmental Practices and Concerns

• Approximately 57% of department chairs were optimistic about the future of race and ethnic studies at their institution, while 13% were pessimistic. (The remainder were either unsure or neither optimistic nor pessimistic.)
• The survey found that 49% of the chairs in race and ethnic studies were concerned about the academic freedom of faculty members in their department (this share was the same size as that for women’s and gender studies, with these two disciplines having the largest proportions among the disciplines included in the survey). Among departments with concerns, the most common concern was about threats to such freedom from federal or state government (cited by 69% of chairs). The second most common concern was about threats from their boards of trustees, academic administrations, and the public (with each group cited by 61%of chairs).
• While 93% of race and ethnic studies departments provided research support for their full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members, and 64% offered such support for full-time nontenured faculty, only 27% offered such support for part-time faculty. The share providing support to full-time nontenure-track faculty was the smallest among the 14 disciplines in the survey.
• Asked what their departments had done in recent years to attract additional majors, 80% of race and ethnic studies department chairs reported outreach to students who were in other majors or undeclared. The second most common strategy was to offer events, classes, or other activities designed to aid students in thinking about future jobs or careers (reported by 70% of the department chairs).
• An estimated 64% of departments supported the career development of their undergraduates by offering (and for a small share of departments, by requiring) occupationally oriented lectures, while 68% offered internships, and 47% offered occupationally oriented coursework or workshops.
• In departments awarding doctorates in the discipline, 33% offered occupationally oriented lectures for their doctoral students; 34% offered internships; and 46% offered occupationally oriented coursework or workshops. These were some of the smallest shares among the 14 disciplines in the survey.