Epistemic limits of mathematical sciences in global higher education

There is growing curiosity around decolonising curricula in higher education, particularly within disciplines traditionally viewed as objective or culturally neutral, such as the mathematical sciences. This article explores how colonial legacies and massification continue to shape curricula within a UK context, under the guise of globalisation and internationalisation. Drawing on survey and interview data with students and staff in mathematical sciences, the study reveals a complex landscape. While there is general support for inclusion and diversification, enthusiasm for decolonisation is more ambivalent, with ongoing uncertainty about its meaning and practical relevance to the discipline. These findings highlight tensions between institutional commitments to growth, international competitiveness, diversification and inclusion, and the enduring colonial and epistemic assumptions embedded within quantitative disciplines. This paper discusses the limitations of perceived inclusion and diversity when framed as consequences of globalisation, rather than as efforts to address the deep-rooted colonial legacies within mathematical sciences.