The Royal Historical Society has warned of ‘an alarming increase’ in the number of university history departments facing cuts to staffing and degree options – even as numbers studying the subject at GCSE and A level continue to rise.

A briefing paper issued by the Society suggests that its survey of historians working in UK higher education shows that 88% of post-92 universities and 68% of pre-92 universities have seen cuts in staffing since 2000, with 30% of post-92s reporting that these included compulsory redundancies (see chart). Significant numbers of history departments have also cut one or more degree programmes or lost one or more course options.

The Society warns that: ‘For trained historians the implications of such changes are far reaching and include: the threat of redundancy; reduced scope for innovative teaching and research; greater inequality between institutions; and a diminishing of history’s influence and contribution beyond the university sector.’

It says: ‘Most at risk are post-92 university departments which provide educational opportunities to the highest numbers of first-generation students and the growing number of commuting students for whom relocating to another university is simply not an option.’

And it adds: ‘The Society fears that disproportionate cuts to history provision — especially in those UK regions where universities are scattered and few in number — will reduce the options available to key groups of students. More concerning still is the prospect that history becomes a subject ever-more concentrated in selected universities, and the increasing preserve of students who are more mobile, wealthier and benefit from familial experience of a university education.’

The findings of the RHS report echo a statement issued by the Society for the Study of Labour History in May 2021 which warned of the impact of cuts to post-92 history departments in particular, and an earlier Royal Historical Society statement.

Despite this gloomy picture, the RHS argues that ‘history as a subject is significant and strong’. It says that in the six years to 2024, the number of students taking history at GCSE increased by 25%, while the number studying history at A level rose by 5.3%. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, however, shows an 11% decrease in university history enrolments (undergraduate and postgraduate combined) between 2019 and 2023.

The Value of History in UK Higher Education and Society, Royal Historical Society.