Current and former agriculture students at the University of Nottingham have voiced concern following the university's proposal to suspend its undergraduate agriculture degrees from next year. The proposed cuts, announced to staff and students last week, would mean that no new undergraduates will be accepted onto the affected courses from the 2026/27 academic year. Existing students will be able to complete their studies, but foundation year students will not be able to progress into those degrees.
The move forms part of Future Nottingham, a university-wide restructuring programme designed to address financial pressures and reshape the institution. The university reported an operating deficit of £17m for 2023/24, and more than 250 jobs are expected to be lost as departments are merged.
Agriculture, which has been taught at Nottingham's Sutton Bonington (SB) campus since the 1890s, is among the subjects earmarked for suspension. The decision has prompted disappointment from students and alumni, many of whom argue that agriculture remains central to the UK's food and farming future.
Final-year agriculture student Herbert Pickford raised the alarm in a widely shared Facebook post and launched an online petition urging the university to reconsider.
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