Quarter of UK university physics departments at risk of closing, survey finds

Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are ‘great concern’ for UK’s leadership in important areas

The heads of UK physics departments say their subject is facing a national crisis as one in four warns that their university departments are in danger of closing because of funding pressures.

In an anonymous survey of department heads by the Institute of Physics (IoP), 26% said they faced potential closure of their department within the next two years, while 60% said they expected courses to be reduced.