Earth sciences programme at VU University will not be discontinued after all

Thanks in part to external financial support, VU University Amsterdam believes it will be able to keep its Bachelor’s programme in Earth Sciences running in a modified form. However, a major reorganisation will follow.

This spring, the VU announced that it would have to discontinue its Bachelor’s programme in Earth Sciences as of 2027. The programme was not attracting enough students and was becoming too expensive. As a result, 43 employees would lose their jobs and some of the students would have to take Earth Sciences courses in Utrecht.

This was met with widespread protest, including from scientists in Delft. On behalf of their department of geosciences and engineering, TU professors Timo Heimovaara and Sebastian Geiger called the proposed closure disastrous for geoscientific research and education.

New opportunities

On Tuesday, the VU announced that the programme could be retained after all. Thanks to “contributions from external parties”, there are “new opportunities to retain parts of the education and laboratories”, the university writes.

Sebastian Geiger responded on LinkedIn:

“This is really, really good news. I am delighted to learn that the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam continues to offer its BSc programme in Earth Sciences. Having strong and complementary educational programmes in earth- and geosciences across the Netherlands will only be beneficial to our society. I am also thinking of our colleagues

HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff