Social sciences and humanities stand up against further cuts

Representatives of the social sciences and humanities have joined forces to speak out against the idea of more of the scientific funding allocation in the Netherlands being directed to engineering.

In a letter to Martin van Rijn, a former secretary of state tasked with reviewing university funding to increase the availability of engineering courses, representatives of the social sciences and humanities warned that any cuts to their field would make it difficult for academics to conduct research in addition to their teaching jobs.

“The bottom has been hit,” the letter said. “Our staff already have less time for research compared with staff in other disciplines. Out of loyalty to their students and because of their passion for their work, staff members are prepared to invest a lot of their time in teaching at the expense of their research and themselves. The situation is painful: lots of staff members only have time to conduct research during the evenings and the weekends.”