Ulster University cuts 450 jobs as international revenue falls

The announcement was made by vice-chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew to staff in a meeting on April 2026 15. A 90-day consultation period with trade unions has since begun.

Despite recording a total income of £304 million in 2025, it posted an operating deficit of £20.2m – up from £5m the previous year. It now forecasts a yearly financial deficit of up to £25m. Records show that income from international students dropped from £31.65m in 2024 to £26.37m in 2025.

The university’s financial report stated that the sector “has experienced a significant downturn in international student recruitment due to changes in visa regulations”.

Last year’s long-awaited immigration white paper outlined significant changes to international student recruitment – including stricter Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) requirements for universities to meet, as well as a levy to be applied to earnings from international fees and a shorter graduate route.

International graduates who apply for a graduate visa on or before December 31 2026 can remain in the UK for two years. From January 1 2027, that window reduces to 18 months, and cannot be extended. PhD graduates retain a three-year entitlement.

The visa restrictions compound an already constrained domestic funding model.

For the 2025/26 academic year, full-time undergraduate home fees in Northern Ireland are capped at £4,855, compared to the £9,535 for UK students outside of Ireland.

In 2025, Northern Ireland’s five universities and university colleges collectively called for tuition fees to rise by more than £1,000 a year. Economy minister Caoimhe Archibald has insisted there will be no increase above the level of inflation, saying she did not wish to put additional pressure on students.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Archibald pointed to similar financial pressures facing universities across Britain when asked whether raising tuition fees could have made a difference.

“We have seen thousands of redundancies across universities in Britain where students are charged twice as much in relation to tuition fees,” she said.

“The common issue in relation to that is that institutions are not being properly funded by the British government in terms of being able to deliver,

“We want to be able to invest in our universities, in that case the executive needs to be properly funded and I will continue to fight that case, alongside with my executive colleagues, with the British government.”

It has recently been made clear to us that a sustainable funding model is not going to be forthcoming, and regretfully we must now act to reduce our costs
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In a statement to BBC News Northern Ireland, an Ulster University spokesperson said: “Ulster University has sought to hold off on making redundancies while continuing to work with the Department for the Economy, through their reviews, on possible changes to the higher education funding model in Northern Ireland.

“It has recently been made clear to us that a sustainable funding model is not going to be forthcoming, and regretfully we must now act to reduce our costs.”

As of early 2026, 105 higher education institutions across the UK were engaged in redundancy or restructuring processes, according to the University College Union (UCU).

The university has said it hopes to achieve the savings through voluntary redundancies, but has not ruled out compulsory cuts. Norman Hagan, chair of the UCU branch at Ulster University, said the union would “strongly resist” compulsory redundancies.

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