Nearly 4,000 humanities jobs lost in a year – here are the Russell Group unis making cuts

The University of Exeter is cutting 150 humanities jobs despite its annual report claiming “a year of continued financial stability,” while Nottingham risks leaving the entire East Midlands without a language degree.

The British Academy’s mapping tool shows that academic staff working in social sciences, humanities and arts subjects fell by almost 4,000 in one year, from 2023-24 to 2024-25 – a drop of three per cent.

The UCU has warned that cuts could disproportionately affect students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, since over half of young UK students study locally.

Here are three Russell Group universities confirmed to be cutting humanities jobs and courses.

University of Bristol

Earlier this year University of Bristol asked its humanities and language staff to quit voluntarily as part of their Voluntary Severance Scheme. This scheme was later extended to Bristol Medical School.

Staff were asked to consider making themselves redundant in return for nine months’ pay. However, one senior Modern Languages staff member said university employees feared the next step could be compulsory redundancies.

The university’s non-STEM schools spend more on staffing and have the lowest overseas intake, and as a result they face more pressure.

A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “We are committed to maintaining our university’s comprehensive disciplinary portfolio and our overall strategy and ambitions.

“As part of a prudent, measured approach to managing our finances, we routinely take planned and focused actions where necessary due to changing student demand and reducing research income streams, while routinely seeking opportunities to deliver our services more effectively and efficiently. This includes identifying ways to reduce our non-pay spending.

“The university is in constant dialogue with our trade unions about any proposal that may affect staff. We are committed to working with them to find ways of delivering any necessary staffing changes through voluntary means where possible, and to supporting our staff.”

University of Exeter

Earlier this month, a campaign was launched to save 150 jobs at the University of Exeter, with humanities most affected by redundancies.

21,000 people signed a petition against the redundancies, which the university has said it will aim to meet through voluntary measures.

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The UCU said there is not a financial need for Exeter to make cuts on this scale after its annual report for 2024-25 claimed “a year of continued financial stability.”

Academics, such as Mark Kermode, honorary professor at Exeter University, spoke out against the changes as part of a campaign against the cuts.

A spokesperson for the University of Exeter said: “We fully understand that this is a worrying time for those who are affected by the ongoing consultation process – however it is important to stress and reiterate that these are proposals at this stage. The university is not proposing to close any departments or disciplines, and under these proposals Exeter would continue to have one of the largest faculties of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in the UK.

“We hope to achieve these changes through voluntary measures and are committed to working closely with our community and the trade unions to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible. All colleagues affected by the proposed changes will receive all the information they need throughout the process, along with every opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns, and participate fully. The university will ensure that this process is fair and consistent throughout.

“While Exeter remains in a strong position, rising costs, the real-terms decline in tuition fee income, underfunded research, and a sustained drop in international student demand mean we must take action now. These changes are intended to secure the university’s long-term sustainability, protect our teaching and research excellence, and ensure our activities remain aligned with future priorities.”

University of Nottingham

The University of Nottingham could leave the East Midlands in a “cold spot” for language facilities. The university has already announced plans to cut 600 academic jobs, as well as suspending courses such as languages.

If the university goes ahead with its plans, there will be no language degrees anywhere else in the East Midlands. The University of Nottingham currently has 500 students studying languages, and 2,000 students on language courses via its language centre.

A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: “As a global university, we absolutely recognise the importance of language learning for personal development, cultural understanding, and employability. However, students are increasingly telling us that the way they want to learn languages is changing.

“The majority of our degree courses in modern languages have very low student numbers and these numbers continue to fall year on year. This year, all but four of our modern languages’ degree courses have fewer than 10 students on them, which is unsustainable.

“At the moment, the opportunity to learn a language is not an option for all students because of accreditation requirements or curriculum constraints. The aim is to increase the number of students who can access language skills by offering different learning opportunities.

“These courses were suspended at the beginning of the academic year. The proposals to close these courses are subject to ongoing and meaningful consultation with the unions and our university community and nothing will be finalised or implemented until a final business case is approved by council in the autumn.”

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Featured image via Wikimedia Commons