With departments and courses facing closures UK chemistry needs a new hero

Bad news for UK chemistry. It looks like the subject is in trouble once more. Undergraduate chemistry courses at Aston University and the University of Hull are slated for closure and its whole chemistry department could close. Other departments around the country are creaking under the pressure too. 

Why is this happening now? It’s all the result of a funding squeeze that’s affected not just chemistry departments but universities around the country. Brexit and government efforts to cut immigration led to falling numbers of international students in recent years. These students pay far more for their courses than domestic students, so are being used to subsidise the courses of students that live in this country. The tuition fees domestic students are charged have also not changed in years, as successive governments have held them at £9250 since 2017. Added to this perfect storm is the fact that things are simply more expensive – inflation has pushed up the cost of everything from energy and water to consumables and reagents. As chemistry is one of the most expensive courses to run, university administrators are looking there first in an attempt to cut costs. Senior figures in the chemistry community are warning that the proposed closures at Hull and Aston could just be the start of many more.