University of Reading proposes closing its chemistry department next year

The department of chemistry at the University of Reading is facing closure from August 2025. 

This is the third potential closure to be announced this year in the UK. In February, Aston University revealed its intention to close its BSc chemistry and BSc applied chemistry courses and, in July, the University of Hull published proposals to close its entire chemistry department. These closures prompted warnings that more would follow if the financial challenges faced by the UK’s higher education sector were not addressed.

Under plans communicated to staff on 22 October, Reading’s University Executive Board has recommended moving the chemistry programmes to the school of pharmacy, apart from the MSc and MChem programmes, which will be closed for recruitment and taught out.

The board has also recommended that the university cease to support any chemistry research at the university that is not aligned with allied health professions, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy (Research Excellence Framework’s (REF) unit of assessment 3 (UoA3)).

Finally, it has been suggested that, from 1 August 2025, Reading’s purpose-built Chemical Analysis Facility should be moved and managed as a central facility.

In its communication to staff, the university said that the proposed changes were due to ongoing underperformance in both the National Student Survey (NSS) and REF.

An online petition, set up by an anonymous student on 29 October, is calling for the university to rethink its proposals on the basis that the department closure would limit the availability of resources and funding for ongoing chemistry research and harm staff security and degree legitimacy.

Unfair accusations

‘The general feeling among staff is that the accusations are unfair,’ says a member of staff at Reading, who asked to remain anonymous. ‘I personally don’t understand what the motivation of it is. I don’t think it is a data-driven thing – the case is so weak.’

‘As a [chemistry] department we are ranked 34th [in the REF]. Most of the departments that are ahead of us in the REF ranking are also ahead of Reading as a university in the overall ranking. We would like to be ranked higher as well, but our position is consistent with the reality of our institution – you cannot expect us in chemistry to beat the likes of Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham.’

The staff member told Chemistry World that there had been one sign that the department was ‘vulnerable’. ‘They didn’t want us to submit to the REF as a chemistry department (Unit of Assessment 8); they had told us that they wanted to integrate chemistry into the pharmacy submission (UoA 3),’ they explain. ‘UoA3 in the REF doesn’t cover all of the research that we do – we do research on materials science, for example.’

If the plans go ahead, they say it is likely that several staff members will end up leaving, either because they are made redundant or they find a position elsewhere.

‘It would be difficult for Reading to sustain the teaching of chemistry degrees; meeting the accreditation criteria for the Royal Society of Chemistry to start with – that is actually a big issue,’ they note. ‘The students are worried, with reason, that the value of the degrees that they’re getting is now going to be diminished, because they will be from a university without a chemistry department and with little chemistry-related research.’

‘It’s a really bad decision at the personal level for many of us … But if the decision was based on a solid case, I would say “it’s a difficult decision but we have to accept it, even when it is difficult”. The problem is that it isn’t, it is a flawed case, and is not even in the best interest of the university. That is what is frustrating. We still hope these damaging plans don’t go ahead.’

Out of the blue?

Wendy Brown, a chemist from the University of Sussex who chairs the Heads of Chemistry UK group, says the university’s comments about the underperformance of the department were ‘quite alarming’. ‘If this has just come out of the blue, then that seems quite shocking and rather unfair as well. You can’t turn NSS around in one year, you certainly can’t turn REF around in one year – it takes multiple years and investment and support from the university,’ she explains.

Richard Catlow, an inorganic chemist at University College London and chair of the REF subpanel for chemistry in 2014, says closing the chemistry department at the University of Reading would be a ‘grave error’. ‘There is good research in Reading chemistry, there are some talented people, they’ve got good links with industry – the response from university management should have been “we’d like a department that does better in the REF, but we’ll work with them to achieve that”.’

Catlow highlights that the university previously closed its physics department back in 2010. ‘Can a university without two core disciplines, physics and chemistry, [still] claim to be a high-quality, leading university?’ he asks. ‘Chemistry is an absolutely vital discipline; the absolute key targets for the 21st century – net zero, sustainability, UN [Sustainable Development Goals], won’t be met without chemistry.’

‘The proposed changes to the chemistry programmes at the University of Reading raise significant concerns for members of our community including staff, students and local employers of chemistry graduates, and those industry partners who work closely with the chemistry department,’ said Helen Pain, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry. ‘We have responded to the vice chancellor and written to the president of the university’s council to express our concerns and to request further information.’

‘The Royal Society of Chemistry is extremely concerned about the challenges facing higher education and the impact this is already beginning to have on chemical science programmes across the UK. Our data shows that the chemistry workforce is expected to grow at a faster rate than the economy as a whole over the next decade but that this will only be possible if universities and further education colleges continue to develop high-quality talent to fill these roles.’

‘Chemistry is a fundamental discipline and essential for solving global challenges, and strengthening national and local economies through its application. We have already experienced the impact of closing university chemistry programmes elsewhere in the UK and this has proven to be to the detriment of other subjects and sectors reliant on both the teaching and research output from these departments.’

Responding to questions from Chemistry World regarding the proposals, a spokesperson for the University of Reading said that no decisions had been taken yet and the university’s governing council would consider recommendations later in November for the ‘future shape’ of chemistry at Reading. ‘We have kept our staff and students informed of this process,’ they added. ‘The recommendations are for a tighter focus of its research and teaching that will enable us best to support both research and educational excellence, and a strong student experience.’

The recommendations went to the university senate for comment on 30 October and will go to the university council on 20 November, which will make a final decision on the department’s future.