En defensa do mestrado de Matemáticas da USC

**En defensa do mestrado de Matemáticas da USC** (English: In Defense of the Master's Degree in Mathematics at USC) was a platform that was created in 2025 advocating the maintenance of the Master's program in Mathematics at the University of Santiago de Compostela.

## Background 
On May 12, 2025, the Secretaría Xeral de Universidades (General Secretariat for Universities) of the Xunta de Galicia decided not to grant uniqueness status to the Master’s in Mathematics, leading to the cancellation of the program for the 2025–2026 academic year.

## Mobilizations 
Students and faculty at the Faculty of Mathematics of Santiago de Compostela organized two assemblies in protest of the cancellation of the Master's in Mathematics.

The first took place on May 20, 2025, with active participation from the university community. The second was held on May 26, 2025, also at the Faculty of Mathematics, in defense of the Master's, which will no longer offer new places for enrollment next academic year.

During the second assembly, students, researchers, and professors sharply criticized the Xunta de Galicia for suspending the program without “any transparent technical evaluation.” They emphasized that this master's degree is the gateway to doctoral studies and "the only higher education option in mathematics in all of Galicia." They called for the reversal of the decision, warning that it will force students to study outside the region, threatening the continuity of research, teacher training, and Galician scientific development.

As a form of protest, a petition campaign was launched, which has already gathered more than 2,500 signatures, including those of prominent researchers at the national level. Participants do not rule out further mobilizations.

A third assembly was held on June 4, 2025 in the main hall of the Faculty of Mathematics, open to the entire community. It reported on the latest advances, the support received —including the endorsement of various Galician and state mathematical societies— and the concerns arising from the official announcement by the Xunta that the master's degree will not be taught in the 2025/26 academic year.

During the meeting, the strategic importance of the master's degree as the only path to higher education in mathematics in the community and as access to a doctorate was reiterated, and the lack of political will to guarantee its continuity was denounced.

A rally was also announced in front of the Galician Parliament on June 11, coinciding with a plenary session, as an act of protest against the disappearance of the degree. The decision of the regional government not to grant it a status of singularity left the master's degree out of the public offer for the next academic year, a fact that is perceived as a serious setback for mathematical research and scientific training in Galicia.

More than a hundred people, including students, professors and researchers, gathered on June 11, 2025 in front of the Galician Parliament to demand that the Xunta de Galicia rectify its decision to suspend the master's degree in Mathematics at the University of Santiago de Compostela, with slogans such as "without maths there is no university", "don't kill Maths", "Román, attend, maths is not for sale" or "we want to study without emigrating". The protest coincided with the parliamentary session in which the BNG and PSdeG groups brought a question to the minister about the cancellation of the master's degree, which generated widespread rejection in the Galician academic community, and with the graduation ceremony of the master's degree in mathematics 2024-2025. Ana Pontón and José Ramón Gómez Besteiro greeted the protesters. More than 100 people attended the demonstration.

## Support 
### Political 
Sumar Galicia has called on the Xunta to maintain the Master's in Mathematics at USC.

The Socialist Party of Galicia has demanded that the Xunta "immediately" authorize the continuation of the Master’s in Mathematics at USC.

The student organization Erguer - Estudantes da Galiza has voiced its support for the platform.

Ana Miranda Paz, of the Galician Nationalist Bloc, also expressed her support.

### Other 
Victoria Otero, president of the Royal Spanish Mathematical Society and professor at USC, has backed the platform, acknowledging the importance of mathematics.

Alberto Cabada, the recently elected dean of the Faculty of Mathematics at USC, has criticized the decision by the Xunta de Galicia, arguing that the degree has always been "unique" in nature. The Faculty Board of the University of Santiago de Compostela has publicly rejected the Xunta's decision to suspend new admissions to the Master's in Mathematics for the 2025–2026 academic year. In an institutional statement, the faculty's governing body expressed its "clear and firm support" for the continuation of the program, which it considers "strategic for Galicia".

Enrique Macías Virgós, former dean of the Faculty of Mathematics of Santiago de Compostela, wrote a letter to the editor published in *La Voz de Galicia* where he stated that the decision is perceived as a sign that mathematics is not valued, ignoring the strategic importance of pure mathematics, which is the foundation of STEM education and a cross-cutting axis of all science.

## Response from Xunta 
The Xunta de Galicia, through the Minister of Education, Science, Universities and Professional Training, Román Rodríguez González, announced in the Galician Parliament on June 11, 2025, that it is willing to work together with the University of Santiago de Compostela to improve the proposal for the Master's Degree in Mathematics, with the aim of reintroducing it into the academic offer from the 2026/27 academic year. The Minister stressed that his intention is to reformulate the degree so that it is more attractive to students, improving both its quality and specialization.

Rodríguez also indicated that the decision not to offer new places for the 2025/26 academic year responds to technical criteria, in particular to compliance with the Degree Decree of 2011, which establishes a minimum number of students for a master's degree to be offered. In this case, the Master's Degree in Mathematics at the USC has had an average of 12 students in the last three years, when the minimum required is 16 students. However, he stressed that the degree is not closed and that students who are currently taking it will be able to finish their studies without any problems.

The Xunta also highlighted that, despite not reaching the minimum number of students in recent years, the master's degree enjoyed several exceptional courses between the 2018/19 and 2022/23 academic years, in order to give the USC time to improve the data and attract more students. However, according to the report of the Galician University System Quality Agency, the improvement plan presented by the faculty does not include specific actions to increase the number of new students.

On the other hand, Román Rodríguez recalled that the denial of the declaration of uniqueness for the Master's Degree in Mathematics in the last two years was motivated by failure to comply with the established requirements.

Finally, the minister stressed that the USC continues to offer two other master's degrees in Mathematics, the Master's in Industrial Mathematics and the Master's in Statistical Techniques, which are well received by students, and that research in this area continues to be guaranteed through the doctoral programs. The Xunta reiterated its willingness to collaborate in improving the Master's in Mathematics to make it more competitive and viable in the future.

## References