Science departments have been closed elsewhere

It is the latest in a series of British universities to swing the axe in the face of falling demand for student places.

Leaders of the Association of University Teachers have written to the Scottish Executive appealing against the closure.

They have accused university leaders of "short-term thinking".

The closure will lead to the loss of nine jobs.

However, university authorities said that chemistry was not threatened by integrating it into a bigger department.

They insisted it made it easier to offer degrees linked to other specialisms, a measure which attracts more recruits.

No Holyrood intervention

Officials added that a new course linking chemistry to the development of drugs had lead to a surge in applications.

They said that they hoped to offer other jobs to half the staff and that some have already moved to other institutions.

Ministers said that universities were independent bodies and they could not interfere.

The shutdown comes as chemistry and physics scientists in Scotland are receiving �37m in additional funding over the next four years while pooling their resources.

Six universities are joining forces to create "super teams" to focus on subjects such as space physics and biological chemistry.

The financial investment has come from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC).

'Better with fewer'

The windfall will go towards as many as 180 chemistry researchers in one team and 200 physicists in the other.

In Physics, experts from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt, Paisley, St Andrews and Strathclyde universities will work together in the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (Supa).

ScotCHEM will bring together two groups - WestCHEM, which consists of Glasgow and Strathclyde universities and EastCHEM, comprising the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

At the same time, the president of Universities UK said the country might be "better off" with fewer, but better-funded, chemistry departments.