Over a third (35%) of professors polled said they would consider pursuing their academic career abroad if the plans were introduced.
The poll further warned that more than one in five (22%) professors already knew a colleague who was also considering leaving the country over the issue. And half (49%) the professors surveyed said they thought the changes would influence their department's hiring and firing plans.
The controversial proposals, announced by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), would force 25% of future research to be assessed on 'economic impacts'. The plans have been condemned by the academic community as an attack on curiosity-driven research.
Over two-thirds of professors (69%) said they opposed the changes, which will limit government funding for curiosity-driven research. The poll also found over a third (35%) would consider pursuing their academic career abroad if the changes were introduced
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'We should be working hard to attract the finest minds to Britain, not implementing new rules that will drive them away. History has taught us that some of the biggest breakthroughs have come from speculative research and it is wrong to try and measure projects purely on their economic potential. We believe the new system would strangle talent and destroy initiative.
'Half the professors polled think that their department's hiring and firing plans will be influenced by the changes. With the higher education sector now facing the biggest cuts seen in a generation, the last thing we need is to lose the brightest and the best through a failure to support their work.'
In December the union handed in a submission to HEFCE outlining its concerns over the proposals. It also handed in a petition with almost 18,000 signatures that came from the full range of academic disciplines and included six Nobel Prize winners and over 3,000 professors.
