Chemistry ‘cold spots’ emerging across the UK, RSC warns

The closure of university chemistry departments and courses in the UK is leading to the emergence of ‘cold spots’, areas where the subject cannot be studied within a reasonable travel time, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has warned.

Currently, these chemistry cold spots, where travel time by car to the nearest university with an active chemistry undergraduate course exceeds an hour (see figure), are emerging in East Yorkshire and the Humber, with the closure of the University of Hull’s chemistry department last year, and in North Wales, with the closure of the chemistry department at Bangor University in 2019. However, there’s concern that further closures could lead to the number of cold spots expanding.