Er, UK universities are not in a great place right now. A combination of higher running costs, fewer international students and little change to tuition fees means that many UK unis are pretty broke right now. Management at loads of unis have proposed they will get rid of more than 100 staff members. Here are the UK unis where the most job cuts are planned. You could use this as an indication of how screwed your unis is (and how hard it might become to nab a good seat in lectures).
The University and College Union (UCU) have compiled a list of how many jobs different UK unis have announced they plan to cut September 2024. It’s pretty alarming.
The University of Edinburgh is easily the worst offender on the list. The union reckons proposed cuts could result in 1,800 job losses. The Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson has said: “The higher education sector across the UK is facing serious and urgent financial challenges, placing its long-term stability under threat. We have been transparent about the impact of these pressures on Edinburgh and the steps we are taking to proactively maintain our position as a world-leading University.”
At least the city is pretty?
Remember, job cuts can take many forms. Most UK unis start by shedding staff through voluntary redundancy schemes. Many are trying to reduce their overall staff numbers by not filling posts when people leave. And several unis (such as Cardiff, and Dundee) actually scaled back the planned job cuts after extensive backlash. Erm, so things could be worse? Job cuts usually affect both academic staff and support staff.
Several other unis have proposed huge cuts, including the University of Aberdeen, Coventry University, University of Cumbria, the University of Kent, the University of Leicester and the University of Sheffield. However, the UCU didn’t have very specific numbers about how many job losses the cuts would lead to. That’s why those unis aren’t included in the ranking below.
So, here are the UK unis that have proposed the most staff cuts since September 2024:
33. University of Portsmouth – 117 jobs
32. Bournemouth University – 119 jobs
31. University of Sunderland – 120 jobs
30. Queen Mary University of London – 126 jobs
29. Sheffield Hallam University – 150 jobs
28. University of South Wales – 166 jobs
27. Robert Gordon University – 188 jobs
26. University of Huddersfield – 198 jobs
=22. Aberystwyth University – 200 jobs
=22. University of Bradford – 200 jobs
=22. Durham University – 200 jobs
Erm, at least Durham has a castle?
=22. University of Essex – 200 jobs
21. Middlesex University – 2o5 jobs
20. University of East Anglia – 211 jobs
19. Cardiff University – 220 jobs
18. Bangor University – 228 jobs
17. University of Hull – 236 jobs
=15. University of Exeter – 270 jobs
=15. Queen’s University Belfast – 270 jobs
14. University of Lincoln – 285 jobs
=11. University of Dundee – 300 jobs
=11. Newcastle University – 300 jobs
Newcastle Uni looking nice
=11. University of Sussex – 300 jobs
10. University of Plymouth – 324 jobs
9. Brunel University – 330 jobs
8. University of Greenwich – 340 jobs
7. Swansea University – 342 jobs
6. University of Nottingham – 356 jobs
5. Birmingham City University – 376 jobs
=3. Canterbury Christ Church University – 400 jobs
=3. Lancaster University – 400 jobs
2. University of York – 434 jobs
1. University of Edinburgh – 1,800 jobs
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