Exclusive:Partial victory for campaign to save Dundee University's philosophy courses
The campaign to save the philosophy courses at Dundee University went global - and has now had partial success
Dundee University has said it will protect the future of its philosophy course despite axing several joint degrees.
A campaign has been under way to save the under-threat programme, which fell victim to cost-cutting measures.
The university announced a range of swingeing proposals designed to stem a £30 million deficit announced in 2024.
Philosophy was among a range of possible course suspensions, drawing international ire as academics fought to protect the subject.
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Now it has been announced that single honours is suspended, as are a number of joint philosophy degrees such as Philosophy and Politics and Philosophy and Languages.
However, three joint degrees - Art and Philosophy, English and Philosophy, and Philosophy and Psychology - will continue to recruit students.
A plan to develop new undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in Philosophy and AI has also been given a green light.
The Scottish government was forced to intervene in Dundee University in 2025, providing a £40m support package.
An earlier emergency grant from the Scottish Funding Council gave the university £22m.
In a statement from the Philosophy team at the university thanked those who signed a petition in support of their petition to save the subject.
“The ground shifted because of you,” it reads.
“Nearly 6,000 people have signed our petition, including academics at 450 universities in 51 countries, from Harvard to Tokyo, Sydney to Stellenbosch.
“A small programme with a large international reach has bucked the trend of closures across the arts and humanities.”
The “picture is not all good”, the group said, criticising a lack of evidence of “any clear financial rationale or assessment of the risks”
Philosophy staff remain at risk of redundancy, as the university looks to cut another 154 jobs in addition to hundreds made last year.
Professor Shannon Vallor is Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh.
Prof Vallor called the decision to suspend the single honours philosophy degree, and other courses such as Philosophy and Politics, “disappointing”.
She added: “There has never been a greater need for graduates who can respond to the urgent moral and political challenges of our time, which are only being accelerated by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.
“For this reason I hope the university will keep its promise to hold the future of philosophy at Dundee open, including the proposed development of a named degree in Philosophy and AI — something that would build upon work already ongoing at Dundee and allow it to lead, rather than follow late behind, in preparing students for tomorrow’s needs."
The campaign was supported by former students John Suchet and Pamela Butchart.
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“Their early support mattered more than they will know,” the statement added.
“And to everyone in Dundee who signed: this is a programme embedded in its city and answerable to it, and that endorsement is not something we take lightly.
“The world now knows where we are.
“We look forward to welcoming the students who come next.”
It was recently announced that the university had decided not to proceed with a proposal to stop offering undergraduate maths degrees.
As an alternative, the university said it is looking at a “redeveloped” programme is ready to launch in 2029.
The University of Dundee confirmed the changes to the philosophy courses when contacted by The Scotsman.
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