More than a dozen postgraduate courses at Edinburgh Medical School are to be shut, leading academics to criticise the shock decision as “unacceptable” and “destructive”.
The Herald understands that affected staff were informed that eight programmes would close over a period of several years and five at the end of this academic year.
The closure of the “highly regarded” Science Communication and Public Engagement programme has drawn particular ire.
A source told The Herald that the programme had already extended offers to 130 students (around 25 were expected to enrol).
However, a message on the programme’s webpage now reads: “This programme is no longer offered by Edinburgh Medical School and is closed to recruitment.”
The source noted: “The details had not been communicated to staff. The postgraduate courses are being closed, and a few are being taught out. 130 life-changing offers have been cancelled. Our course was well respected in the field. There are not many places where you can study this topic.”
“If it is all about money, I do not understand why the management would cut a programme which has £1.1 million turnover and £500,000 profit,” the source added.
Edinburgh University bosses have repeatedly spoken of the need to make £140m in cuts due to what they term a “severe financial crisis”.
“There are inefficiencies about the way we deliver things,” university principal Sir Peter Mathieson told the BBC last year. “This is a mammoth university with 22 schools and lots of duplication. We're very good at adding new things, not at taking things away.”
Currently, four on-campus postgraduate programmes are listed on Edinburgh Medical School’s website, as well as 23 online programmes.
However, using the Wayback Machine, The Herald found that the website listed five on-campus programmes and 36 online programmes as recently as March 30, 2026.
The Herald understands that the university intends to redeploy staff teaching on the courses to other parts of the institution.
“I think they are prioritising speed and cutting as quickly as possible even if badly,” the source remarked.
Commenting on the grim irony of the situation, they added: “This is Edinburgh Medical School’s 300-year anniversary. They’ve been trying to garner positive press.”
Sophia Woodman, president of the University and College Union (UCU) branch at the university, said the cuts were “unacceptable”.
She remarked: “UCU Edinburgh has received reports from members in the Edinburgh Medical School that masters programmes are being closed at very short notice. Some of the programmes slated for closure are highly regarded, and a significant source of income for the University. This is unacceptable.”
The UCU has been engaged in an ongoing marking and assessment boycott, during which staff have refused to mark papers or exams.
This latest escalation comes as The Herald revealed that bosses refused to release secret documents outlining their restructuring plans over fears this could lead to “increased anxiety” among staff.
A memo sent to members of Senate, the university’s supreme academic body, stated:
“Provision of this paperwork ... presents significant risks for the University; including misinterpretation of work being undertaken due to lack of sufficient context, increased anxiety for staff through misunderstandings about potential areas of focus, and confusion around governance pathways, remits and decision-making authority.”
Dr Woodman added: “We can't see any reason why such decisions should be made, at such haste. 'Move fast and break things' might be common in the tech sector, but a university is a complex ecosystem, built up with care over time, and adopting this kind of approach risks severely damaging the institution, as well as diminishing the income from tuition fees, a significant proportion of its revenue.
“Our branch is fighting to save members' jobs, but also to prevent this kind of damage to the University, and to the experience of its students.
“Our current marking and assessment boycott is a last resort to stop such counterproductive and destructive actions by senior management. Members joining the boycott are facing 100% pay deductions to hold the line against this kind of thing.”
In a lengthy statement, Professor David Kluth, head of the Edinburgh Medical School, defended the cuts.
He said: “[We] have a strong vision for the future, which has been guided by a thorough and evidenced based review of postgraduate taught programmes. While this will bring opportunities for students, it has also led to our decision to close some postgraduate taught programmes in August 2026.’
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“Every student affected will receive tailored information about what this means for them and the support available. Staff also have an opportunity to meet with senior leaders to discuss the implications of these changes and the support available to them.”
Dr Kluth said that the school’s postgraduate taught portfolio “has been designed as a whole,” with the model changing from “ large number of standalone MSc programmes to a smaller number of integrated, scalable programme groupings”.
He added: “The review has allowed Edinburgh Medical School and the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to consider where programmes can be strengthened, and how academic and professional services support can best be organised to support students and staff effectively over the longer term.
''The overall aim is to support a strong, sustainable and academically ambitious postgraduate portfolio for the future. We will build a new offering based on core programmes.”
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