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Proposed job cuts at the University of Exeter, in southwest England, have reignited debate over the role of humanities education as artificial intelligence changes the skills employers seek.
The restructuring, announced in June, would reduce the equivalent of around 150 full-time roles, affecting about 500 staff during a consultation process. Most of the proposed reductions fall within the faculty of humanities, arts and social sciences, according to staff representatives.
The proposals drew wider attention after Ruby Granger, a YouTube creator and Exeter graduate, was asked by a student union to highlight the planned cuts.
Granger said she initially believed the situation was isolated to her former university, but after publishing a video on the proposals, she received hundreds of comments describing similar job cuts at universities across the U.K., Europe, Australia and the United States.
'These are tutors I've stayed in touch with, people who gave so much to me and my peers during our time at university,' Granger said.
In a statement, the University of Exeter said it is not proposing to close any departments or disciplines and would continue to operate one of the largest humanities, arts and social sciences faculties in the U.K.
The university said the changes are intended to secure its long-term sustainability amid rising costs, declining tuition fee income in real terms, underfunded research and falling international student demand.
It said it hopes to achieve the reductions through voluntary measures and is working with trade unions to avoid compulsory redundancies.
The debate around Exeter reflects wider financial strain across British universities, many of which have announced restructurings in recent years amid frozen domestic tuition fees and uncertainty over international student recruitment.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency reported that the number of academic staff at U.K. higher education providers fell by 1% in the 2024-25 academic year, the first such decline on record.
Michael J. Flexer, a lecturer in English Literature at Exeter and co-chair of the university's branch of the University and College Union, said staff had organized in the months before the restructuring proposals became public.
He said Exeter remains in a relatively strong financial position, citing budget surpluses, cash reserves and continued student recruitment, and said union representatives have asked management for detailed evidence supporting its long-term financial projections.
Flexer argued that framing university education primarily around current labor-market demand overlooks how quickly economies change.
Students starting university now will enter careers years later, he said, making it difficult to predict which technical skills will be in demand by the time they graduate.
He said universities should instead equip students with abilities that remain useful regardless of technological change, including clear thinking, communication, collaboration and curiosity.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, an organization representing 142 higher education institutions, acknowledged the financial pressures facing universities but said reducing the pipeline of humanities graduates carries risk.
She said that in an age of artificial intelligence, understanding how humans think and act is likely to become more valuable, not less.
Other Exeter academics also weighed in. Amelia Morris, a lecturer in communications, said humanities and social science education helps students recognize the influence embedded in language often presented as neutral, and builds critical thinking skills needed to address social challenges.
Peter Riley, a senior lecturer in American Literature, said the humanities also play a role in questioning authority and holding institutions accountable, a contribution he said extends beyond university settings.
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