A University of Edinburgh geography course titled Queer Geographies: Spatialising Sexuality and Gender has been axed just one week into the semester.
The decision was taken to pause the course for this academic year due to insufficient demand.
It is unclear how many students were enrolled, but the upper limit for the class was 40.
A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said:
“The University regularly reviews and refreshes its degree programmes and courses to ensure that they meet the needs of our community.
“We made the decision to pause Queer Geographies: Spatialising Sexuality and Gender for the 2025/26 academic year as the level of student demand was not sufficient enough to enable us to deliver the course and ensure an excellent student experience.”
They added that students enrolled on the course were reallocated to another module within their programme in the first week of classes. They continued:
“We remain dedicated to providing a well-rounded educational experience that equips our students with the skills and qualities they need for their future.”
The decision comes amidst controversy around the significant budget cuts taken by the University of Edinburgh, amounting to around £140m – 10 per cent of the University’s total income.
These were described as “out of proportion” by the Universities and Colleges Union, who have been partaking in strike action over the issue.
Notably, the measures included a plan to “cut courses not proving popular.”
Some students at the University of Edinburgh have emphasised their concerns about the possibility of having more limited course options in future.
One student said:
“It is really worrying to hear, especially when there are threats of cutting courses due to the budget cuts.
“I also think the representation within courses like [queer and trans geographies] is so important for marginalised voices that are being silenced recently, and the university should maybe do more to advertise this course and others like it in future”.
According to the course catalogue, the module was focused on “conceptualisations of sexuality and gender in human geography, specifically through the lens of queer and transgender geographies.”
It was open to third- and fourth-year geography students, and had previously run for more than five years.
“Edinburgh Futures Institute courtyard” by Arcaist is licensed under CC BY 4.0.