Kingston axes philosophy centre in humanities department shutdown

Kingston University’s acclaimed philosophy centre is set to close under plans to shut the institution’s humanities department – a move that would also end English literature and modern languages courses.

News of the proposed closure of Kingston’s Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP) was shared with staff and students in an email that explained the university was “closing programmes where demand has declined over several years”.

No new students will be admitted to English or philosophy programmes, it added, noting that short courses in modern languages offered under the Kingston Language Scheme will also be wound down.

Kingston has also suspended applications for new students to its foundation year humanities programme “with a view to it closing in the new longer term”, according to the email sent by Kingston School of Art dean Mandy Ure.

The latest cuts follow a grim period for university redundancies, with thousands of job cuts announced in recent weeks. However, the proposed closure of Kingston’s philosophy department is likely to be seen as significant because the south-west London institution is one of the few post-92 universities still offering the subject.

Originally started at Middlesex University in 1995, the unit moved across London in 2010 when it was threatened with closure and is still seen, in many philosophers’ eyes, as an important centre for the study of European philosophy.

Dozens of leading philosophers including Jürgen Habermas, Judith Butler and Slavoj Zizek signed a protest letter in February 2024 after Kingston announced that it was suspending PhD admissions, describing the centre as “one of the most valuable and distinctive centres of philosophical research anywhere in the English-speaking world”.

The cuts follows Kingston’s closure of history and politics degrees in 2021, while philosophy has been under threat since a portfolio review was announced last year.

Explaining the reasons for the changes, the email from Ure cited “rapidly rising operating costs, declining overseas applications due to government immigration policy and an unpredictable and extremely competitive higher education marketplace”.

“The courses we’ve suspended applications to are no longer attracting the same numbers of students as they have in the past,” explained the email, which said that the end of loss-making courses would allow Kingston to “invest more in subject areas where there’s strong interest from students and real potential for growth”.

The university is reportedly seeking to find institution-wide savings of £20 million, according to the local University and College Union (UCU) branch.

In a statement confirming the propsed closure of the humanities department, the university said the "subject areas proposed for closure are low recruiting and have had to be subsidised by others across Kingston School of Art for a number of years. This has deprived areas where there is demand and those with potential for further growth of important resources."

“To be in the best position possible to invest in and support areas of growth and continue to enhance our students’ teaching and learning, the university has been reviewing its undergraduate and postgraduate provision. Central to this is our focus on ensuring we offer a demand-led course portfolio, reflecting the rapidly evolving needs of students and employers," it continued.

Kingston added it was "committed to ensuring students on courses in scope of the proposals receive the same high-quality teaching they expect from us and can complete their studies successfully. Appropriate supervision will be arranged for any students completing research projects or degrees."

Kingston’s UCU branch has condemned the “barrage of closures to courses and entire departments” trailed by management, claiming recent communication represented “failures to meet their moral and legal responsibilities towards staff and students”.

In an open letter circulated by staff and students, the university is warned that the loss of the CRMEP “would stain the reputation of Kingston University domestically and abroad, and signal a disdain for the research excellence it claims to espouse”.

Condemning the “fig-leaf of a rushed 30-day ‘consultation’ period”, students spoke about the “contempt displayed in their treatment of current MA, MPhil, and PhD students and researchers – who, despite an assurance that our studies will not be disrupted, are likely to be left without appropriate teaching, module provision, and thesis supervision”.

 Without the CRMEP, Kingston’s School of Art would lose its “intellectual engine” and a “world-leading and internationally excellent research centre, which awards more PhDs per member of staff than any other group in the university, according to the latest Research Excellence Framework”, it adds.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com