The prestigious Oriel College at Oxford University | Adrian Dennis AFP via Getty Images More EU academics leave UK universities amid Brexit worries: report EU staff resignations were also up 10 percent in 2017.

The number of European academics leaving British universities jumped by 19 percent in the past year compared to before the EU referendum, highlighting the uncertainty around their post-Brexit rights.

More than 2,300 EU university staff members have resigned in 2017, also up by 10 percent from last year, the first following the Brexit vote, the Independent reported on Sunday, citing freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats to 105 universities.

Prime Minister Theresa May has urged EU citizens to remain in the U.K. after Brexit.

But the British Academy, the national body for humanities and social sciences, has warned that the country's university sector is at risk from potential changes to immigration rules after the U.K.'s departure, with subjects like modern languages and economics most at threat.

The University of Oxford registered the highest number of EU resignations in 2017, with 230 compared to 171 in 2014-2015, according to the Independent. The university, however, noted that the departures were offset by a large number of EU staff recruited.

King's College London lost 139 EU staff members, up from 108 before the referendum, while the University of Cambridge saw 173 members leave, compared to 153 in 2015-2016 and 141 in 2014-2015.