Introduction
Aberystwyth University (Welsh: Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across 3 academic faculties and 17 departments.
Founded in 1872 as University College Wales, Aberystwyth, it became a founder member of the University of Wales in 1894 and changed its name to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. In the mid-1990s, the university again changed its name to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. On 1 September 2007, the University of Wales ceased to be a federal university and Aberystwyth became independent again.
Aberystwyth University is placed in the UK’s top 50 universities in the main national rankings and it has become the first university to be awarded the prestigious prize “University of the year for teaching quality” by The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019). According to the Research Excellence Framework REF 2014, Aberystwyth ranks in the top 50 out of 154 in the UK for impact, quality of publications and research environment
Campuses
The main campus of the University is situated on Penglais Hill, overlooking the town of Aberystwyth and Cardigan Bay, and comprises most of the University buildings, Arts Centre, Students’ Union, and many of the student residences. Just below Penglais Campus is the National Library of Wales, one of Britain’s five legal deposit libraries. The landscaping of the Penglais Campus is historically significant and is listed.
The Llanbadarn Centre is located approximately one mile to the east of the Penglais Campus, overlooking the town and Cardigan Bay to the west, with the backdrop of the Cambrian Mountains to the east. Llanbadarn Centre hosted Aberystwyth Law School and Aberystwyth Business School, which together formed the Institute of Business and Law. The Department of Information Studies is also based there. Additionally, the Llanbadarn Campus is the site of the Aberystwyth branch of Coleg Ceredigion, a further education college, and not part of the University.
At Gogerddan, on the outskirts of town is located the University’s major centre for research in land-based sciences and the main centre for the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science.
The School of Art is located between the Penglais Campus and the centre of Aberystwyth, in what was originally the Edward Davies Chemical Laboratory. A listed building, the Edward Davies Building is one of the finest examples of architecture in Aberystwyth.
The site of the original university is the ‘Old College’, currently the subject of the ‘New Life for Old College’ project which aims to transform it into an integrated centre of heritage, culture, learning and knowledge exchange.
The university also holds an international branch campus in Mauritius. Aberystwyth Ltd. operating as Aberystwyth University (Mauritian Branch Campus) runs the campus. The institution is registered as a private one by the Tertiary Education Commission of Mauritius.
Programs
Single Honours
• Law (LLB, 3 years)
• Law (BA, 3 years)
• Law (with integrated foundation year) (LLB, 4 years)
• Law and Criminology (LLB, 3 years)
• Life Sciences (BSC, 4 years)
• Joint Honours
• Law and Accounting & Finance (LLB, 3 years)
• Law and Business & Management (LLB, 3 years)
• Law and Cymraeg Proffesiynol (LLB, 3 years)
• Law and French (LLB, 4 years)
• Law and German (LLB, 4 years)
• Law and International Politics (LLB, 3 years)
• Law and Spanish (LLB, 4 years)
MA
• Archive Administration (MA, 1 year)
• Information and Library Studies (MA, 1 year)
MSc
• Digital Curation (MSC, 1 year)
• Digital Information and Media Management (MSC, 1 year)
• Distance Learning
• Archive Administration (MA, 5 years)
• Archive Administration (MA, 2 years)
• Digital Curation (MSC, 5 years)
• Digital Information and Media Management (MSC, 5 years)
• Digital Preservation (UCRT, 2 years)
• Information and Library Studies (MA, 5 years)
• Information and Library Studies (MA, 2 years)
• Management of Library and Information Services (MSC, 5 years)
PhD
• Librarianship (PhD, 3 years)
Student life
Aberystwyth not only offers a fantastic education but also an unbeaten quality of life. Be it the renowned Black House or a random barbecue on the beach, Aberystwyth has a lively social scene. Our Students’ Union runs more than 150 clubs and societies from canoeing and computer gaming to moot debates and musical theatre. Our Penglais campus is also home to Wales’s largest Arts Centre with a boutique cinema, theatre and lives music venue as well as exhibitions, classes, cafes and a bar.
Student residences
Most of the student residences are on campus, with the rest in walking distance of the campus and Aberystwyth town centre. Accommodation ranges from ‘traditional’ catered residences to en-suite self-catered accommodation and from budget rooms to more luxurious studio apartments. All have wired access to the University’s computer network and a support network of residential tutors.
