The School of Contemporary Chinese Studies will close at the end of the year

Staff and students left angry and confused over recent announcement


This year will see the closure of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies. Last week it was announced it will be integrated into other departments from July 31st.

An email sent to students from uni staff said: “I want to reassure you first of all that this will not mean any changes in the quality or quantity of teaching you currently receive.”

Founded in 2007, the specialisation of Chinese studies at Nottingham is well respected among employers and other universities. As seen from UoN’s website, SCCS is the only academic school in the UK to focus specifically on Contemporary China – and it also houses the highly regarded China Policy Institute.

Currently situated on Jubilee Campus, the study of Contemporary China will now be fully integrated into mainstream university activity. From September current first and second years will undergo a huge change in their timetables, lecturers and lecture locations, as they continue their degree. Final year students are not affected by timetable changes; however, they are worried that they will have their assessments, such as dissertations, marked by other schools, which may require a different standard of writing. All staff will transfer into other schools aligned with their specialism.

The current reasoning is to integrate the study of Contemporary China across the whole University rather than in a single school. However, this has been an abrupt end for both its staff and students, without any apparent consultation. Despite the news coming at such a busy period, a plan to take further action is in the works between the school’s staff and students. Meetings within the school will be held later this week.