‘Sheffield Uni needs East Asian Studies’ – 3,000 sign petition to vice-chancellor

The cuts are part of a wider cost cutting programme being carried out by the University of Sheffield


3,000 people have signed a petition calling for the University of Sheffield to halt plans which would “significantly reduce” capacity in the teaching and research at the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS).

The petition states that the university has made a “fundamental mistake in failing to consult with staff students, alumni and supporters of east asian studies” on its plans and calls for it to “go back to the drawing board”.

In November last year, University of Sheffield’s management disclosed four executive proposals to cut expenditure in the School of East Asian Studies, as part of a broader programme of cost reduction against the backdrop of the £50 million shortfall facing the institution. 

Addressed to vice-chancellor Koen Lamberts, the petition is being supported by the University of Sheffield branch of the University and College Union (UCU), who posted a link to the petition last week on its social media channels.



The plans are slated to amalgamate existing courses in Japanese, Chinese and Korean into a single East Asian studies programme. A PhD student at the SEAS, who is supporting the petition, told The Sheffield Tab: “Sheffield is one of the only universities that offers Korean language degrees. Getting rid of specialised courses is going to knock them off the map.”

Other proposals include restructuring language tuition and staffing – initially through a voluntary severance scheme (VSS), – and administrative centralisation.

The University of Sheffield has consistently stated that its ongoing restructuring efforts are not intended as cost cutting measures. However, The Sheffield Tab reported yesterday that in a PowerPoint presentation delivered by the vice-chancellor on professional services restructuring, a slide stated: “The university is now expecting 2,000 fewer international students in 2024-25, and fewer international students in future years. This means that, as a whole, we will need fewer staff.”

The campaign against the cuts to the SEAS is called Sheffield Needs EAS. Its website says: “Staff and students of EAS at Sheffield believe these proposals will seriously harm our provision, and the state of knowledge of East Asia”.

It goes on to remark that of the school’s 500 Master’s students last year, “many are international students”. The university’s financial difficulties have been exacerbated by the decline in lucrative foreign student applications. International students pay £22,000 in tuition per annum compared to the current domestic rate of £9,250. This is a figure that is set to rise after the government’s latest budget, even as university provisions are cut and university management salaries increase.

The PhD student at the school, who wishes not to be named, told The Sheffield Tab: “They’d never ask the engineering department to get rid of specialised courses.”

The Sheffield Tab reported last semester that just three of the 11 departments that were subject to the voluntary severance scheme were STEM departments.

The student also added: “I’ve written a strongly worded letter to the vice-chancellor, and I hope others do too.”

A representative of the Sheffield UCU commented that the SEAS proposals represent the “latest damaging attack on world leading areas of scholarship, starting from the closure of the biblical studies degree programmes, the decision to close archaeology, and now targeting a globally influential programme.”

A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: “We regularly review our courses to ensure they meet the needs of our students, employers and wider society, and we often make changes to reflect this.

“Unfortunately, like other universities, we have seen a reduction in the number of students applying to some of our courses in east asian studies, so we are making some adjustments to our programmes to strengthen our offer. Students will still be able to specialise in Japanese, Chinese and Korean at the University of Sheffield.

“We are incredibly proud of our school of east asian studies, its global standing and the impact that our academics, students and alumni have made since east asian studies was established at Sheffield more than 60 years ago. We are making these adjustments to help secure the future of our excellent research, teaching and knowledge exchange in this field.”

The link to the petition can be found here.

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