https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/may/14/kings-college-london-to-merge-with-cranfield-university

This merger will inevitably lead to reduction and rationalization at many levels. The merger is a clear indicator of a sector-wide crisis.The merger is a clear indicator of significant structural and financial turbulence across the UK higher education landscape.

This is actually a strategic acquisition rather than a merger. Cranfield is a postgraduate-only engineering and management university that specialises only in a few niche subjects, like aeronautical and aerospace engineering (it has its own airfield), defence technology and finance. Cranfield was suffering financially because a large number of EU and overseas students used to study these (as opposed to native Brits, who flock towards the humanities). With EU students no longer entitled to subsidised fees and international enrolment dwindling, Cranfield was facing a financial crisis. So King’s quietly bought it in a distress sale.

STEM departments boost rankings and their students and faculty are seen as less agitation-oriented than humanities students and faculty. Also, their employment rate is usually 100%. You probably have better job prospects as a Cranfield MSc in Aerospace Engineering over an Oxbridge MA in Philosophy or History (at least salary-wise). So KCL decided to acquire this rather than, say, SOAS or some theatre or art school. Since Cranfield is postgrad-only, they expect the people there to boost research rankings. Another advantage of STEM departments is that they can raise revenue through industrial consultancies. MIT and Stanford are obviously the gold standard, but even Cranfield does projects for aviation and military companies. They won’t be dependent on subsidies and handouts, which SOAS probably would.

Thus, OP’s concerns are more valid for pure-play humanities colleges like SOAS. For example, the UK’s top divinity school, Heythrop College, which was part of the University of London, has shut down completely.

Good points. In UK, this is not the first one. Earlier Kent and Greenwich also announced a merger citing financial difficulties.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/sep/10/kent-and-greenwich-universities-to-merge-in-attempt-to-improve-financial-viability

If humanities are losing their lustre (or have already lost it), then what happens to humanities-heavy NLUs in India?

If memory serves me correctly, Cranfield is well known for its clinical drugs research and other niche tech courses. Styled as a merger this is mostly KCL bulking up on STEM. KCL received a hefty endowment from a South East Asian tycoon for its law school a decade back or so. Hefty enough to to buy out naming rights.

After the 2008 fin crisis several such mergers and buyouts had happened. Even earlier when many so called universities mushroomed out of what were essentially colleges, it eventually led to a crack down and clean up.

But it is true the situation is worrisome. Chinese and Indian students along with some others bring in the moolah that kept these universities going. After all we pay 3-4 times the fee that UK national pay. Add to that the cost of living etc. Scholarships sound fancy but are meagre percentage. Also most scholarships are small bursaries and very few are what folks understand as "full scholarships".

Time to wise up.

As both the comments say, KCL bought Cranfield to bulk up STEM. They will just rebrand Cranfield STEM research as KCL research. KCL is humanities-heavy, apart from its excellent medical school. This doesn’t help its overall rankings, because STEM gets you the big research and citation scores. Also, the humanities departments at KCL have been involved in controversial woke culture wars (Palestine, trans rights, etc). Doesn’t help rankings and drains resources.

Agreed - time to wise up. Your UK university may not even exist in the near future, rendering any earlier degree completely useless. Imagine having a degree from a university that doesn't exist.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/sep/10/kent-and-greenwich-universities-to-merge-in-attempt-to-improve-financial-viability

Here’s your answer from the Guardian. The report says King’s will now move close to Yale in the QS rankings, because of STEM output. All about expanding STEM and hacking into rankings.

Cranfield, the smaller, highly focused postgraduate technology and management college that has its own airport.…

Prof Dame Karen Holford, Cranfield’s vice-chancellor, said she expected the combined university to grow as a result of the merger, helped by a boost in international league tables from totalling up KCL and Cranfield’s research output.

…

Because of its size and lack of undergraduates, Cranfield does not appear in most international league tables, while King’s ranks 31st in the influential QS world university rankings. A provisional ranking for a combined KCL-Cranfield projects it to be 21st, close to Yale University.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/may/15/kings-college-cranfield-stronger-together-surprise-merger

"However, with 40% of English universities believed to be in financial deficit, mergers could become more common, with Cranfield following on from Kent and Greenwich".

"Once you strip away the positive spin, it is clear university mergers are often a symptom of severe financial pressure, and this is being felt across the sector." University and College Union of UK