Cuts and Threats to Philosophy Programs
CategoryNottingham Administration Proposes Massive Faculty Cuts
The administration of the University of Nottingham is planning on reducing its full-time faculty by 600 beginning next January, using layoffs (redundancies) if need be. (more…)
Petition to Save the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire
Administrators at the University of Hertfordshire are eliminating not just philosophy (as reported last week) from the school, but also undergraduate programs in English Language and Linguistics, English Literature, Creative Writing, and History. (more…)
Hertfordshire to Eliminate Philosophy from Its Curriculum
In a couple of years, students at the University of Hertfordshire will be unable to take a philosophy course there. (more…)
Georgetown Philosophy Suspends PhD Admissions for Fall 2026
The Department of Philosophy at Georgetown University will not be accepting any PhD students for the 2026-2027 academic year. (more…)
Portland State Ordered To Reinstate Laid-Off Philosophy Faculty & Others
“Administrators who claim that their university is under financial distress must not be given carte blanche,” wrote members of the Department of Philosophy at Portland State earlier this past January, when three of its faculty members were told they’d be out of their jobs at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. (more…)
Philosophy in College Beyond the Philosophy Major
It’s not just budget cuts that are leading some colleges and universities to get rid of their philosophy major programs. Sometimes its legislation.
Exploring the Future of Philosophy: An Independent Philosophy Institute? (guest post)
What is the institutional future of philosophy? (more…)
Monmouth College Eliminating Its Philosophy Major
The President of Monmouth College, a private liberal arts college in Illinois, has recently announced that students at the school will no longer be able to major in philosophy, nor in a number of other subjects, starting in Fall 2026. (more…)
Philosophy at Some Indiana Public Universities Threatened
The Indiana state legislature has passed a budget bill that will have the effect of closing programs at several public universities in the state, including some philosophy programs, unless the universities request permission to continue them and those requests are granted by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
Philosophy Major at Kennesaw State May Be Eliminated
As if it were the manager of a candy store deciding which chewing gum to stock, the administration of Kennesaw State University (Georgia) is deciding which majors to offer solely by seeing how many kids already like them. (more…)
New Ohio Law Ends Philosophy Major at Univ. of Toledo
In order to comply with Senate Bill 1 of the Ohio Legislature (SB1), the University of Toledo will no longer be allowing students to become philosophy majors. (more…)
Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: The Personal Invitation
Affirmation. It’s natural to want it and to be encouraged by it. If deserved, it’s good to give. And giving it to your students can help grow your department’s enrollments and majors. (more…)
Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: Alumni Relations
Alumni can have a surprisingly strong voice in university and college decisions, and they can also help individual departments in various ways. What is your department doing to maintain good relations with its graduated philosophy majors and minors? (more…)
Fredonia Cuts Kershnar, Kills Philosophy Program
“The BA Philosophy was approved for discontinuation and the Philosophy minor will be sunset, which will abolish the Philosophy department, and your continuing appointment will be terminated as of the close of business August 31, 2026.” (more…)
Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: The Ontarian Approach (guest post)
The percentage of college graduates who are majors in philosophy is about five and half times higher in Canada than in the United States. One factor in this might be the success philosophers have had in implementing philosophy courses in Ontario high schools. (more…)
Kingston Plans to Close Its Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy
The administration of Kingston University has announced plans to close its Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP). (more…)
Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: Interdepartmental Cooperation on Campus
This is the third installment in the occasional series, Philosophy Department Survival Strategies. In this post, our topic is about philosophers working with members of other departments at their university or college.
Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: Course Offerings and Majors
This is the second installment in the occasional series, Philosophy Department Survival Strategies. The topic is how the number and types of philosophy courses affect the health of the philosophy major program.
The Financial Squeeze on Higher Ed
The Trump administration’s plan to place severe limitations on what universities receive in indirect costs from grants from the National Institute of Health (though temporarily blocked*), as well as cuts the administration has made to various granting and education-related agencies, has higher education on guard, and several institutions are taking steps to limit ex..
Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: Local Student Recruitment
Some readers have noticed the alarming frequency with which posts in the category of “Cuts and Threats to Philosophy Programs” appear here. Given the current political winds, there might be more cuts coming. What can philosophy departments do to improve their chances of survival? (more…)
Cuts to Philosophy Are Part of Massive Layoffs at St. Norbert College
“The problem is, the administration keeps coming back for more, and more, and more, and it never stops.” (more…)
Moratorium on Philosophy & Other Programs at the University of Puerto Rico
The president of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Luis Ferrao Delgado, has temporarily shuttered undergraduate major programs in 64 fields, including philosophy, across its multiple campuses.
Explaining the Value of the Liberal Arts Requires More than Words
“The decline in liberal-arts disciplines is happening because, on many campuses, no one has taken ownership of explaining them.” (more…)
Philosophy Major and Department at Risk in Sonoma State Budget Bloodbath (updated)
The philosophy major at Sonoma State University is among several degree programs slated for elimination at Sonoma State University, and the philosophy department is one of six that will be closed, according to a plan proposed by the university’s aptly named interim president, Emily F. Cutrer. (more…)
Portland State Philosophy Protests “Administrative Malfeasance”
The administration of Portland State University has violated the university’s collective bargaining agreement in laying off three long-employed members of the Department of Philosophy, according to a petition currently circulating. (more…)
Philosophy Departments Under Threat: Information, Pro-Active Strategies, Defense
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Many philosophy departments and programs have been targeted for cuts or elimination over the past several years, and many currently are undergoing reviews by administrators looking to make budget cuts or other changes that may end up negatively affecting philosophy departments. (more…)
Despite Reports, UConn Philosophy “Not at Risk”
Last week, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on worries that “dozens of majors could face elimination as part of a review of low-enrollment programs—a process that began amid a significant budget deficit.” (more…)
Wisconsin Campus Closure Approved; Philosophers & Others To Lose Jobs
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted last week to approve the closure of the Waukesha campus of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Thirty-two professors will be laid off, including three tenured philosophers. (more…)