The University of Kent has confirmed six courses are set to be cut, following a consultation.
Undergraduates at the campuses in Canterbury and Chatham who will see the subjects “phased out” over the next years say they are devastated over the news.
The courses being axed are anthropology, art history, health and social care, journalism, music and audio technology, and philosophy.
No new students will be taken on to read those subjects, although those already studying them will be “supported” until the end of their degrees.
In a statement issued today, the university said: “Following a period of consultation, we have now shared decisions with staff and students on future course changes at Kent.
“Through working together, we have been able to make adjustments that support continued delivery of some courses that were under review, such as modern languages and a new offer of English language and literatures.
“However, a number of other courses will be phased out as we adapt our portfolio to better match future student demand.
“We will now be working with affected staff to talk through their options as a result of this, including confirming the resources required to support students on these courses with teaching and supervision to the end of their degrees.
“These changes will also support growth in key areas such as business, psychology and biosciences, and sit alongside broader strategic plans at Kent to ensure we put students at the heart of everything we do.”
The courses that had been under threat but are now to stay are English language and literature, forensic osteology and field methods, and modern languages.
In February, KentOnline revealed that 58 members of staff had been issued with “risk of redundancy” notices and a further 40 were taking voluntary redundancy.
In a further cash-saving measure, the university’s Rochester and Gillingham buildings on the Medway campus are to be handed over to the University of Greenwich, which shares the site.
After Easter, all the remaining departments at the Gillingham campus will be moved into the Medway building.
The university has faced a drop in foreign students applying for courses since Brexit and since its ranking fell by 26 places over the last eight years in the Complete University Guide.
The University has not confirmed exactly how many jobs are to go.
In February, around 200 staff and students demonstrated on the Canterbury campus against the coming cuts, waving placards and chanting “No cuts. No Losses. Take it from the bosses.”
Today, second-year anthropology student, Oli Sturdy, who organised the protest, said he was “very, very sad.”
Mr Sturdy said: “That’s a feeling shared by all the students on my course.
“It’s devastating to see a department that has been so successful shut down, seemingly without proper consideration.”
Mr Sturdy, 21, said first years had been hit particularly hard, and claimed they are already seeing some modules being cut.
He acknowledged that the financial problems being faced by the university were common to universities across the country, but he was critical of the lack of transparency about the financial situation and the way the decision had been reached.
He said: “Anthropology had a very good reputation. This makes no sense.
He predicted that students might now look to “jump ship” to another university, perhaps making the situation even harder for Kent.
Brendan Papp, as second-year journalism student at the Medway campus, said he was already thinking of doing so.
He said: “You have to think about what a future employer might think of you having a degree from a school that got shut down the year after you left.”
Mr Papp, an American, said it was a great shame.
The 20-year-old said: “I picked the University of Kent because of the quality of the course – no other reason, there’s nothing really here in Medway.
“That they would close a course that has had such a good reputation and after the department has worked so hard is really quite surprising.”
Ashleigh Hendra is a third-year anthropology student who also led protests against the cuts and gathered a petition of more than 5,000 signatures.
She said it seemed the university was “gutting” the humanities courses.
She went on: “This is a really backward step for education. It’s an awful for the lecturers.
“They have been told that from now on they will lose all their research time and must spend it all teaching. That’s going to leave them behind when it comes to applying for jobs in the future. I just hope it’s all worth it and the university is still here in years to come.”
Reacting to the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, the university’s Centre for Journalism said: “Profound thanks to the very many students, graduates, friends and followers who responded so touchingly last month with stories of how the CfJ had been a force for good in their lives.
‘We have fought hard against a decision which we think defies logic…’
“Sadly, we learned today that our fight to stay open has been lost.
“The university has told us that no new students will join our BA, MA and Year in journalism programmes going forward. We have fought hard against a decision which we think defies logic on very many levels.”
The university has previously stated it was looking to phase out courses where numbers have been decreasing and fewer people are looking to study them.
A spokesman added: “This is not a reflection on the quality, value or teaching of any particular course, and under the proposals we will keep a broad portfolio across areas – there are just some courses where student numbers mean we no longer think we can be competitive in the future.
