PLANS to scrap philosophy degrees at Keele University as part of �1.3 million of cutbacks have been condemned by academics from across the UK.
The entire philosophy programme, which caters for around 150 undergraduate students, could be closed down under proposals due to be discussed by the university's senate on Wednesday next week.
Academic posts across humanities, natural sciences, and pharmacy could also be affected. The centre for professional ethics at Keele could also be shut down.
The plans are the latest phase of a �6.5 million programme of savings, which The Sentinel first revealed last year.
Although more than �4 million of reductions have already been identified, largely through voluntary redundancies, early retirements and natural wastage, there is still a �1.3 million gap.
Now almost 2,000 people, including students and academics from other UK universities, have joined a Facebook campaign to save philosophy from the chop.
The group was set up by 22-year-old Adam Kimberley, who is in the third year of a philosophy and education studies degree at Keele.
Adam, who lives in Northwood, said: "The course is fantastic and the staff are great. If it hadn't been for Keele, I wouldn't have discovered my passion for philosophy. We really want to show the senate and the university management how much this means to students."
Keele's links with philosophy date back to when it was founded in the 1950s, with its first graduate achieving a degree in the subject.
Academic luminaries at Keele have included the philosopher Antony Flew, who was a world-renowned atheist.
Philosophy lecturer James Tartaglia said staff only found out this week the subject was under threat.
He added: "We've got support from every philosophy department in the UK. There is a general sense of outrage within the philosophy community."
The University and College Union (UCU) has also criticised the plans, saying they are based on out-of-date figures.
Just three academics teach philosophy at Keele, yet university officials say scrapping the programme will save �300,000.
Joe Andrew, an executive officer at UCU's Keele branch, said: "They seem to be counting members of staff who have either left or are due to leave this summer because they are on a fixed-term contract."
He also accused Keele of being "premature" in drawing up the latest plans, saying they may be able to realise these savings through other means.
But since Keele first announced it needed to reduce its staffing bill by 2013, it has suffered larger than expected cuts in Government funding.
Its grants for 2011/12 are being slashed by 4.6 per cent, leaving the university with little room for maneouvre.
A university spokesman said: "Closure of discipline areas is a very serious and painful step for any university to contemplate, and Keele is no exception.
"But in the circumstances, it is not possible to achieve the necessary improvements to the university's financial position without taking difficult decisions of this kind.
"The university is aware of, and very much regrets, the impact the proposals will have on individual members of staff and on students, and will do all it can to minimise this impact."
Current philosophy students will be able to complete their degrees, but there might be no new intake at the university in September.
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