The University of Edinburgh’s decision to phase out a large number of degree programmes for new entrants has triggered a wider debate about what universities should preserve when financial pressure forces them to rethink their academic portfolios. The changes, which will affect programmes across the university’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, have drawn particular attention because several of the affected areas are connected to Scottish literature, Celtic studies, languages and cultural studies.
The university, however, says the changes should not be interpreted as abandoning Scottish culture or its academic study. Its School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures says it is reducing the number of separate entry points while maintaining subject areas and giving students greater opportunities to combine Scottish and Celtic studies with disciplines such as history, politics, law and business.
What the Edinburgh Course Cuts Involve
The University of Edinburgh has announced changes affecting programmes across its academic portfolio, with the Students' Association saying 93 programmes in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are scheduled to be cut. The announcement has generated particular concern around programmes centred on Scottish history, culture and language.
The university's explanation is centred on programme size, demand and the need to reshape its curriculum. According to its School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, 48 programmes being phased out had collectively enrolled fewer than 30 students a year. The university says current students will still be able to complete their degrees as planned.
This distinction is important. The changes primarily affect future entry to specific degree programmes, rather than immediately ending teaching and research in those subjects.
The university says it intends to retain nearly 100 programmes within the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures for 2027 entry. It also says students will have greater flexibility to combine language and cultural studies with subjects across the wider College.
Why Scottish Culture Has Become a Central Concern
The controversy is particularly sensitive because Edinburgh has a longstanding role in the academic study of Scotland. The university says its College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences contains the world's greatest concentration of researchers and scholars working on Scotland's history, languages, cultures and society, with more than 1,000 students studying these subjects each year.
The Edinburgh University Students' Association has raised concerns that the loss of multiple programmes focused on Scottish history, culture and language could weaken the university's role in preserving and developing those fields. It has also questioned the transparency of the decision-making process and called for greater student involvement.
For supporters of dedicated programmes, the concern is not simply about the number of students enrolled on an individual degree. Specialist programmes can also provide a structured academic environment for subjects that have smaller student populations but carry cultural, historical or linguistic significance.
At the same time, Edinburgh's academic leadership argues that the subjects themselves can continue through a different structure rather than disappearing from the curriculum.
The Gaelic Studies Question
The debate becomes especially significant in the case of Gaelic.
The university currently offers dedicated teaching on Gaelic language, identity and sociolinguistics. Its 2026/27 course catalogue, for example, includes Gaelic Identities and Sociolinguistics, examining Gaelic identity in Scotland, bilingualism, language revitalisation and contemporary language policy.
The university's broader approach is to integrate such subjects into multidisciplinary programmes rather than relying exclusively on narrowly defined degrees.
That model could allow Scottish and Gaelic studies to reach students who might not otherwise apply for a specialist Celtic or Scottish Studies degree. The university says it wants to emphasise comparative study and allow students to approach Scotland's history, culture and society through multiple academic perspectives.
The question, however, is whether integrating a subject into wider programmes can provide the same depth and institutional visibility as maintaining a dedicated degree.
Why This Matters
The Edinburgh debate reflects a larger problem facing universities across the UK: how should institutions balance financial sustainability, student demand and the preservation of specialist academic disciplines?
Universities are under increasing financial pressure, and the Scottish higher education sector is no exception. Edinburgh's School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures points to a Scottish Government estimate of an approximately £200 million annual funding shortfall across Scottish higher education.
Against this backdrop, universities are increasingly reviewing programmes according to enrolment, resources and how easily courses can be structured around changing student demand.
But academic subjects do not always operate like conventional commercial products. A course with a small number of students can still contribute to research, cultural preservation, teacher training, language revitalisation and the wider academic ecosystem.
This creates a difficult policy question: should programme viability be measured primarily by student numbers, or should universities also account for the cultural and intellectual importance of specialist fields?
The Bigger Picture
The Edinburgh case also highlights how universities are changing the way students build degrees.
Instead of choosing increasingly narrow programmes, institutions can create broader degrees in which students combine several fields. Edinburgh says its restructuring is intended to make it easier for students to study languages and cultures alongside areas such as politics, history, law and business.
For Scottish and Gaelic studies, this could create a wider audience. A student studying politics could explore Scottish political history; a literature student could study Scottish writing; and a language student could incorporate Gaelic into a broader programme.
The university argues that this kind of multidisciplinary structure can help subjects adapt rather than disappear.
Critics, however, remain concerned about whether reducing dedicated entry routes could eventually make specialist subjects less visible to prospective students.
The issue therefore extends beyond Edinburgh. Universities across Europe are facing similar questions about how to preserve languages, cultures and specialist humanities disciplines when student numbers are uneven and financial pressures are increasing.
What Comes Next
The University of Edinburgh's programme changes are expected to reshape how new students enter several areas of study from 2027 onwards. Existing students on programmes being phased out are expected to continue their studies and complete their degrees under the existing arrangements.
The university maintains that Scottish and Celtic studies will remain part of its academic offering, while students will gain more opportunities to study these areas alongside other disciplines.
The debate now centres on whether that restructuring can preserve the depth and visibility of Scotland's cultural and linguistic studies while also addressing the financial realities facing higher education.
For Edinburgh, the challenge is therefore not simply deciding which courses attract enough students, but determining how a modern university can continue teaching subjects that may have relatively small cohorts while remaining financially and academically sustainable.
