One in four university physics departments fear closure in next two years – poll

The Institute of Physics said the number of students studying the subject started to drop in 2021/22 after steady growth the previous decade (Lauren Hurley/PA) - (PA Archive)

A quarter of UK university physics department heads fear their units will be shut down within the next two years due to financial pressures, a survey has found.

In a survey by the Institute of Physics (IOP), most university physics heads of departments (84%) said they were facing financial challenges or had done so recently.