The University of Aberdeen is considering abolishing its degree courses in modern languages in light of a “steep fall” in student recruitment over recent years.
Announcing a review of its modern languages provision on 30 November, the Scottish university said it would consult on a number of options following “particularly low recruitment to undergraduate modern languages programmes at Aberdeen in September 2023”.
Just 27 full-time equivalent (FTE) students this autumn joined the university’s languages programmes, which include French, Gaelic, German and Spanish, compared with 46 in 2022 and 62 in 2021, it said.
“High staff numbers (37 staff – 28.83 FTE) relative to student numbers means that income does not cover even the direct costs of staff delivering modern languages provision before any central costs (such as library, IT, student services, estates)” are considered, the university continued, adding that the subject was on course to have a projected deficit of £1.6 million in 2023-24.
