News Editor Becky Gelder reports on the University of Birmingham’s decision to stop offering an American and Canadian Studies Programme for Undergraduates.
The University of Birmingham (UoB) will no longer be offering students the opportunity to study American and Canadian Studies (ACS) as a standalone undergraduate degree.
Incoming students who wish to pursue this subject are instead being directed towards the departments of English, History and Politics, which offer some optional modules on similar content.
The university also maintains that its ‘multidisciplinary approach, along with the possibility of living and studying or working in the US or Canada on some of our programmes, is highly appealing to potential employers.’
The decision to stop offering the course is reportedly due to ‘declining levels of interest in the subject as a degree programme, compounded by the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.’
The Twitter statement from the ACS department also notes that its programme ‘is among the leading programmes of its kind, and its loss will be keenly felt as a result of this decision, which we are assured was not taken lightly.’
The statement also looks to reassure current students that their degrees will be unaffected by this decision, and that they will ‘continue to receive the outstanding education to which they are accustomed.’ In addition to this, it is made clear that the American and Canadian Studies Research Centre will not be impacted, and that the centre will continue to operate as it has done previously.
One second year UoB ACS student spoke to Redbrick, saying that they had heard from professors that the decision to stop offering the course was ‘due to lack of money more than anything else.’
I genuinely think it’s a fantastic degree and [I] went through so many mind changes while applying to uni but since starting the course I have never once doubted my choice
She also expressed concern on behalf of the department’s academics: ‘the professor we heard from said the American and Canadian Studies faculty weren’t informed or given any say … that’s the biggest concern I’ve really had about it and many of my course mates share it, we’re thinking about the job safety of our professors who are honestly golden and, like all professors in all departments, deserve more security than they currently have.’
The student also explained why she believed the degree was so valuable: ‘with the state of America being what it is (i.e. such an unbelievably transgressive place considering it’s meant to be one of the most progressive) it seems unwise to stop educating on it.
‘Finally I’m just sad about it, I genuinely think it’s a fantastic degree and [I] went through so many mind changes while applying to uni but since starting the course I have never once doubted my choice.’
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