UK's chemical departments and courses facing closures, leading to 'cold spots' in the field, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
UK Chemistry Departments Face Significant Closures and Cuts
The UK's higher education sector is experiencing a wave of closures and cutbacks, with multiple chemistry departments across the country feeling the brunt of these changes. This trend, part of a broader cost-cutting and restructuring effort, is leading to job losses, course closures, and program mergers.
One of the most impacted universities is the University of Hull, which confirmed the closure of its chemistry department last year. The University of Reading, on the other hand, managed to avoid full closure but will discontinue MSc and MChem programs in chemistry, thus limiting advanced study opportunities in the field. Universities such as Leicester and Bradford have proposed or are implementing similar changes, signalling a widespread sectoral contraction.
These closures are contributing to the emergence of "chemistry deserts" in parts of the UK, potentially excluding underprivileged students from quality chemistry education due to geographic and financial barriers. Extensive staff redundancies are also a concern, often involving senior academics and tied to voluntary severance schemes and compulsory redundancies.
Despite these cuts, some universities continue to invest in administrative perks, highlighting funding allocation controversies. The impacts on students include reduced course availability, potential increases in travel or relocation costs to study chemistry, and diminished opportunities for research and academic career development in chemistry subjects.
The University of Sheffield, which faced a £50 million shortfall last year, is set to carry out a review of chemistry and other subjects in September. Katie Raymer-Woods, a policy adviser at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), has stated that this financial sustainability crisis in higher education is leading to cuts, mergers, and closures in chemistry departments, and that this is restricting student choice and impacting some groups of students more than others.
The RSC has warned about the emergence of 'cold spots' in the UK, areas where the study of chemistry cannot be pursued within a reasonable travel time. These cold spots are emerging in East Yorkshire and the Humber, due to the closure of the University of Hull's chemistry department last year, and in North Wales, due to the closure of the chemistry department at Bangor University in 2019.
Jason Love, head of the school of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, has stated that these recent chemistry department closures in the UK are a reflection of chronic underfunding in the higher education sector. He discusses the idea of universities pooling resources to support each other, but notes that this would be challenging at an undergraduate level, especially for institutions not in the same city.
The University of Leicester has entered a four-week-long period of 'pre-change engagement' for several academic areas, including chemistry. The University of East Anglia has proposed cutting full-time faculty, including 22 from science.
Jonathan Oxley, senior manager at the Confederation of British Industry, has stated that businesses are struggling to recruit individuals with numerate and logical skills, including chemists, surveyors, engineers, physicists, and mathematicians. He suggests that businesses should be thinking about how they can attract the talent they are looking for, rather than just waiting for it to come to them.
The RSC Future Workforce and Educational Pathways report, published in 2024, shows that chemistry jobs are projected to grow by 6.5% in a decade, demonstrating that the demand for chemistry skills is set to increase across multiple sectors. The emergence of cold spots is putting students from poorer households at a disadvantage when it comes to studying chemistry.
Love emphasizes the importance of keeping the message strong about what chemistry contributes to, including technology, the environment, and climate change, to ensure that people understand what chemistry does and what it can do. He suggests that UK chemistry departments are particularly vulnerable due to their smaller size and the extensive laboratories they require, which can lead to higher costs.
Cardiff University announced plans to merge its chemistry department with two other schools. The University of Bradford announced in April that it would be closing its chemistry courses. The RSC continues to warn about the emergence of cold spots in the UK and the potential impact on students and the workforce.
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