Which university will be next? Course closure for students in Nottingham.
Image credit: The Telegraph
What would you do if your dream course was suspended during the application process? This is the situation prospective students are in for the 2026/27 entry for sixteen courses at the University of Nottingham. A spokesperson for the University has claimed that these courses have been marked for closure due to a number of reasons.
In this case, it’s not just prospective students that are facing huge change, but also students studying these courses at a foundation level will no longer be able to progress next year but instead be offered suitable alternatives. Students who are already studying these courses, beyond a foundation level, are able to carry on their studies and have a fully supported faculty for the duration of their time there.
Music is one of the subjects that is no longer feasible to maintain here. Whilst it’s not news that the arts are now seen as a dying form, whether that be due to the ever advancing AI or a lack of funding for these departments, seeing these courses be closed is deterring our generation from their passions. I have spent years studying a creative subject, and before I made the decision to come to the University of Leeds, I was adamant that I was going to go to drama school in London and make a name for myself. The arts are not met with the same academic standard as other courses, so when people began to tell me this dream was out of reach and unrealistic, I began to believe them. Why should students who choose to study the arts be met with backlash or have their degree be known as a ‘mickey mouse subject’?
They shouldn’t! Art degrees are so important to leave as an option for people to study as they offer so many transferable skills. Sometimes I do think people forget how much of daily life is surrounded by the arts. More often than not people will drive to work with the radio on or will come home and watch their favourite television series. The people that make these things possible come from an artistic background, some of whom will hold a degree. Art degrees are more than just a “cop out”. These courses provide people with experience, confidence and creativity. That is something that should not be taken away from students.
Studying an art form allows students to express themselves through this creative liberty that is being granted to them. This term “mickey mouse subject” or “soft subject,” drills this idea into students that they’re not as academic as their peers who have chosen to enter a different field may be. I can only imagine how encouraging this is for prospective students!
That said, it’s not only the arts that are suffering. If prospective students want to go to UoN and study subjects such as modern languages, food science, theology or microbiology, unfortunately they’ll have to look into alternatives.
Although microbiology may sound niche, it’s actually an incredibly important sector of biology and a subject that will always be needed. Perhaps some of the courses that are set to be cut are seen as non-essential as you do not always need a degree to enter this field. If young people do get a degree in these fields this decision could make students question their employability after graduation as it would appear the demand for these job roles are decreasing.
The big question around this situation is: why are these courses being suspended? The university’s spokesperson claims the reasons include low demand from prospective students, declining cohort sizes and low research income. This means that these courses are less financially viable to maintain. I suppose it would be rather strange if you turned up to your first lecture and saw only a handful of students and were told that this was your entire cohort, but that doesn’t make this situation any easier for students.
It’s always a shame when a University has to make such huge changes to the way in which their institution runs, and to what they can offer young academics. I know I won’t be alone in feeling for those students who are having to change their plans due to something out of their control. Thankfully, we are in a position where there is only one university making these decisions but it does beg the question – which university will be next?
Words by Jessica Ashton