The University of Dundee has announced it plans to cease offering Philosophy as a named degree from 2027. This news has come as a complete shock to students, staff and the wider Scottish community. We, the philosophy community of Dundee, are determined to fight this.

Here are some of the reasons why Dundee's Philosophy programme should be saved:

-Philosophy at Dundee is a diverse, inclusive, public-facing teaching and research programme that specialises in critical engagement with contemporary issues, as well as the history of ideas. 

-Our programme at Dundee is the only Philosophy programme in Scotland (and one of the few remaining in the UK) that specialises in European philosophy in contrast to the other philosophy programmes that specialise in Anglo-American thought. 

-We run the Scottish Centre for Continental Philosophy, an internationally renowned centre for Continental Philosophy research, bringing philosophy scholars to Dundee from around the world.  

-We rank first in Scotland (and 6th in the UK) for student satisfaction in The Complete University Guide 2027. In the Guardian University Guide 2026 we rank 2nd in Scotland and 12th in the UK. In the Times University Rankings 2026, philosophy is rated as 5th in the UK for teaching quality.

 -We are a rich interdisciplinary program, working with students and academics across Contemporary Art Practice (DJCAD), the Humanities, Psychology, Politics, Law, Education, Geography, Social Sciences and the Life Sciences.

-Our philosophy students graduate with the skills to articulate their own considered arguments in response to issues that matter to them, such as climate justice, AI, gender and sexuality and mental health. Importantly, they also develop the ability to engage with public debates and host events that bring people together to discuss challenging ideas.  

-Philosophy at Dundee is a small and highly cost-effective programme, one which has a disproportionately large positive impact on Scottish students and the wider community. As evidence of the former, we collaborate with Dundee schools to deliver an innovative outreach programme supporting the transition to Secondary School through 'Localising Philosophy' (over 2000 pupils worked with to date, and 37 student internships provided).

-Here are some examples of the amazing things our graduates do: Amanda Askell (who now works for Anthropic and who shapes the moral framework of Claude); John Suchet (Broadcaster and Author); Pamela Butchart (Scottish children’s author and high school philosophy teacher); Sky Stephenson (Senior Manager, S+P Global), Sarah Calmus (Artist); Waco Yokoyama (Sustainability Lead at TALAN Management Consulting and Technology); Kam Chan (Engagement Producer for Futures and Design + Officer for Visual Arts Scotland and the Architecture Fringe CIC); Brian Smith (Banking Investigator); Graham Guest (Musician and academic); Jak Galbraith (Consultant); Annie Donaldson (Artist); Michael Burns (Youtube Content Creator) and Katherine Fay Allan (Artist). 

- Philosophy at Dundee supports a diverse community of students, including many who are the first in the family to attend University. Testimony to this transformational effect, we were recently ranked first in Scotland (and 2nd in the UK) in the Guardian for ‘valued added score’, a metric that measures the positive impact of degree pathways for student futures, both in terms of academic achievement and opportunity.

Please help us defend the future of the philosophy programme,  and protect the valuable interdisciplinary teaching and research spaces at the University including the Cooper Gallery and Botanic Gardens, that support interdisciplinary dialogue and community inclusion.  

By signing this petition, you are helping staff and students to attempt to reverse this change and assert that Philosophy is a valuable subject to offer at Dundee, and that the existing Philosophy programme is something to be exceptionally proud of.

We will leave the last word to some of our students from the Philosophy Society at Dundee: “Hearing the news of the Philosophy Programme being cut was devastating. We hope to rally enough support to revert this current decision as this loss will leave a huge hole in the university and Dundee, and would only lead to greater loss down the line.  The staff have all helped us through philosophical discoveries and problems, new avenues and connections, and become the passionate philosophers we are today and will be.”

(Picture credit to Eva Milne, one of our current students!)

Pa'lante!