By Abbie Holmes, Third Year, English
From some of the earliest conceptions of ‘university education’, right back to the Middle Ages, the Arts and Humanities were central to a prestigious education. One need only consult All Souls College, Oxford – home to ‘the most difficult entrance exam in the world’ – which exclusively admits Arts and Humanities students, to track the historical importance of the study of art and culture (Studia Humanitatis, as Cicero put it in the 1st century ʙᴄᴇ).
Cut to 2026, we see a very different series of events. Despite University applications increasing by nearly 800,000 over the past decade, the percentage of those applying to arts and humanities courses has decreased at a similar rate. With rising tuition fees, and rising concerns over employment prospects, this has come to a head with recent announcements of Creative Arts and Humanities courses being cut across Universities.
Considering members of the Russell Group receive over three quarters of research grant and contract income in the UK, it is perhaps most concerning that the likes of Cardiff, and more recently, Nottingham, have reported plans to cut entire departments across Modern Languages and Music. The question must be asked; in the face of financial struggle, why are these pursuits the ones declared as disposable?
The line of reasoning remains the same: ‘reduced research investment’, ‘decreasing number of applications’, ‘funding cuts’. This is not a series of explanations I find wholly convincing. Whilst Rishi Sunak may have insisted that these ‘mickey mouse degrees’ rip-off students, and must be replaced with practical education and investment, this is not entirely reflective of reality.
Courses such as Language Studies and Social Sciences have seen themselves rise to the top ten best degrees for earning potential. On the other hand, perhaps oversaturation, perhaps overpromise in the dwindling job market, has left typically high earning degrees such as Law, Computing, and Physical Sciences behind in the bottom ten.
It does not seem a coincidence that the decreasing ‘respect’ for the Arts and Humanities neatly aligns with the percentage of women within those fields. Research from the University of Canterbury, NZ, suggests that when an academic field, or a workforce becomes ‘feminised’ salaries and wider funding reduces by 8–20%. With women earning nearly 60% of all degrees, pretending this problem will remain Arts-exclusive seems foolish. Increasingly ‘feminised’ fields within STEM, such as Neuroscience and Psychology have also begun to receive cuts.
Cuts to degree courses are not just a subject nor university level issue, they are a reflection of wider inequalities across academia and the workforce.
Music courses, which have found themselves taking centre stage amongst recent discussion, reveal another issue. Whilst Creative Arts courses have seen government cuts of over £20m, it was assured that ‘our world-leading small and specialist providers’, such as the royal colleges of music, would be protected through an additional grant.
Though protections for royal music conservatories offer some relief, this special treatment, so to say, produces a new list of questions. Access to top specialised institutions are limited, aside from the simple fact of lower acceptance rates compared to other top Universities. With rising living costs, a record number of students are now commuting to University, making geography a major restriction in institution choice. The most popular (and highest ranked) Music conservatories are based in London and Manchester. Both of these cities and their home counties have considerably high amounts of grammar schools, offering some of the best state education in the nation.
For those who don’t have the funds to relocate, simply being born outside of major cultural hubs now does not only limit the quality of education, but access to that education, whatsoever. This becomes a revolving door of disaster. With less courses being offered, less students seek them out. Universities provide hundreds of billions to our economy, and they are ultimately an ecosystem. Though cuts to individual courses may seem futile, it has a trickle down effect that impacts entire institutions.
Ambar Madhok
For music education, this is a particularly rife issue, and one that has always been at the centre of class debates. Aside from the frequently reported benefits of music education in quality of life and positive mental health, music remains a core facet of the nation’s cultural and economic exports.
Ultimately, though Music, Humanities, and the Creative Arts are all evidenced worthwhile pursuits, I view debating the ‘worth’ of individual fields and courses to be futile. None of this is a music, or arts, or humanities specific issue, but instead, a symptom of an already flawed system. I urge those who denote subjects and fields outside of their own as ‘down there’ on the hierarchy of importance, to look outwards at the full picture.
Featured image: Epigram / Megan FoulkWhat do you make of the cuts being made to the Arts across universities?
