Four Swansea departments are also threatened with closure

They joined forces to protest against a decision to phase out undergraduate teaching.

They say the plan is "short-sighted" and it is "misleading" to claim chemistry research will continue.

But university vice chancellor Richard Davies has said the postgraduate area will be strengthened.

It is a very short-sighted decision taken for understandable accountancy reasons Professor Martyn Poliakoff

The university's council voted by more than four to one in favour of the proposal after further costing options were considered.

But the scientists, all fellows of the Royal Society of Chemists professors, maintain it is "misleading" to say the university will be able to attract frontline chemistry researchers.

They claim research and a chemistry department's work go hand in hand.

Professor Martyn Poliakoff, one of the signatories to a joint letter, said: "I feel that chemistry is a very important subject and all chemists in the UK have to stick up for each other.

"It is a very short-sighted decision taken for understandable accountancy reasons.

"I have written to the vice-chancellor. The point is that you cannot separate teaching of undergraduates and research because much of research involves students who are post graduate.

"Chemistry is an enormously important subject perceived as being quite expensive because our students need laboratories and not just books.

"By reducing a department, you won't have anyone to invent and man the chemical processes of the future," he said.

'Scientists needed'

Fellow professor David Garner said: "This is not the time to be closing chemical departments and there are several reasons."

He said the government and the EU has stated more scientists are needed.

"Chemistry is the central science, we interact with physics and biology and medical scientists," he said.

Prof Garner said all medical advancements came from the sciences and the government had realised there was a shortfall in funding.

With more countries entering the EU, Prof Garner said more students would want to come to the UK to take advantage of strong scientific academic departments.

Swansea University would not comment further, apart from reiterating its stance on strengthening postgraduate studies.

"We are looking to all those who lobbied the university in recent weeks to retain chemistry to now work with us to ensure that chemistry flourishes at Swansea under these new arrangements," a spokesman said.

But vice-chancellor Prof Davies has previously described the phasing out of undergraduate teaching as "regrettable.

He has said a university the size of Swansea "cannot do everything" and there was an "over-provision of undergraduate places in chemistry in the UK".

Prof Davies said the aim was to "strengthen the postgraduate area and align research with related academic areas including the Medical School and Environmental Science."