EDINBURGH University has reportedly axed an honours course covering “queer and trans geographies” just one week into the semester.
Students enrolled in the course turned up to the first timetabled lessons only to be told it may be withdrawn as a cost-cutting measure, The Times has reported.
It comes as the institution is trying to plug a £14 million black hole, with 350 members of staff already taking up a voluntary severance scheme, alongside promotion freezes and a restriction on new hires.
The course cancellation was reportedly confirmed with students, who were then directed to other units within the School of Geosciences.
Part of an undergraduate geography degree programme, the “Queer Geographies: Spatialising Sexuality and Gender” class was described by the course syllabus as an opportunity for students to “critically, and self-reflexively, consider how sexuality and gender inform and unfold in the everyday spaces we inhabit”.
Edinburgh University confirmed it had paused the course due to the small number of students who had signed up, but has not disclosed the number of students who had enrolled.
A spokesperson for the university told The Times that the course had not been permanently closed and that the institution “regularly reviews and refreshes its degree programmes and courses to ensure that they meet the needs of our community”.
The spokesperson added: “We have made the decision to pause Queer Geographies: Spatialising Sexuality and Gender for the 2025–26 academic year due to the level of demand not being sufficient to enable us to deliver the course and ensure an excellent student experience. Students who had enrolled on the course will be reallocated to another within their programme.”
However, Martin Zebracki, chair of the Space, Sexualities and Queer Research Group at the Royal Geographical Society, warned that losing the unit risked further marginalising minority topics and groups.
He said: “This type of course would help students understand the processes of social marginalisation, including in relation to legislation, and encourage students to consider how social norms could be challenged — not only in theory but also in everyday life.
“Courses like this really seek to develop critical thinkers of the future.”
Zebracki added that the popularity of a university programme should not determine whether it should run, as he said: “Are other universities going to copy this? It sets a precedent.”
