Joint Open Letter to Birkbeck University’s Vice-Chancellor

Mathematical Societies across the UK have co-authored a letter to the Vice Chancellor of Birkbeck University. The open letter, co-authored by the London Mathematical Society, Royal Statistical Society, Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and Edinburgh Mathematical Society , calls on Birkbeck to scrap plans to cut funding to their Mathematics and Statistics Department for fear of creating a maths desert for mature students.  

Current media surrounding funding cuts at Birkbeck University state that the subject of these reductions will be humanities departments. However, the Mathematics and Statistics Department is included in the proposed cuts. The maths societies have warned that this could lead to the subject becoming untenable at Birkbeck.  

Birkbeck is recognised as the only specialist provider of evening higher education in London. That means people unable to enrol in more traditional routes into education, especially mature students, have the opportunity to access further education at Birkbeck.  

However, cutting or closing this department will lead to significantly reduced educational access to mathematics and statistics qualifications. Mathematics is one of the top 10 most employable degree subjects, providing a wide range of careers and skills for the modern workplace.  

Therefore, by making mathematics increasingly inaccessible, these cuts risk creating a maths desert for mature students within the UK’s capital city.  

You can read the full letter here.