The UK universities turning to cutting whole departments and courses to save money in 2026

Most UK universities are really, really struggling with money in 2026. Unis often say their financial problems were caused by a drop in international students since Brexit and Covid, increased upkeep costs during the cost-of-living-crisis, and tuition fees not increasing enough to compensate for all this. To save money, many UK universities are resorting to very drastic steps, and have announced they are cutting whole courses and departments in 2026. Even some of the very academic Russell Group unis are scrapping whole programmes. Yikes.

University of Aberdeen

In February, management laid out plans to make £12 million of budget cuts over the next two years. Management want to rearrange all the departments, so the uni consists of four faculties instead of 12 schools. Under new rules, programmes with fewer than ten students will be scrapped. The uni will immediately stop letting in new students for taught postgrad courses with under six students.

Staff went on strike over the plans in March.

The rather imposing Marischal College in Aberdeen
(Credit: AlasdairW)

University of Leicestershire

The uni confirmed on 5th March that it is culling the Film Studies and Modern Languages departments. Current students can finish up their degrees, but no freshers will be recruited.  The cancelled courses are about half of the subjects in the School of Arts, Media and Communication. The UCU estimates that almost 300 people who had received offers to start these courses in autumn 2026 won’t be able to. Students on other courses can still pick up a language on the side through the Languages at Leicester (LAL) programme.

University of Nottingham

Some Notts Uni students looking busy in the library

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Nottingham Uni has suspended intake for more than 40 courses across 15 different subject areas that aren’t as ‘financially viable’. Current students can finish their degrees, but no freshers will start these programmes in autumn 2026. Management are considering closing these courses permanently. Modern languages and music courses are suspended, as well as many programmes within the School of Biosciences.

Queen Mary University of London

This Russell Group uni is one of the many UK universities cutting down the humanities courses on offer in 2026. Management plan to cancel at least 295 modules in the School of the Arts, according to the UCU. The scrapped subjects reportedly include “Slavery, Colonialism and Postcolonialism”, “Language and Ethnicity”, “Intersectional Feminist Writing”, and “Reading South Asia: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh”.

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University of Sunderland

This uni ran a glass and ceramics programme in the National Glass Centre. The building needs repairs. As a report estimated relocating these uni courses would cost £9.4 million, the uni decided in March 2024 to phase the courses out instead. The final year group of students will finish up in summer 2026, then the programme will close.

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Featured image of the University of Aberdeen by Alan Findlay.