Introduction
Swansea University (Welsh: Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes within the University of Wales. The title of Swansea University was formally adopted on 1 September 2007 when the University of Wales became a non-membership confederal institution and the former members became universities in their own right.
Swansea University has 8 colleges spread across its two campuses which are located on the coastline of Swansea Bay. The Singleton Park Campus is set in the grounds of Singleton Park to the west of Swansea city centre. The £450 million Bay Campus, which opened in September 2015, is located adjacent to Jersey Marine Beach to the east of Swansea city centre which is in the Neath Port Talbot Area.
It is the third largest university in Wales in terms of number of students. It currently offers about 330 undergraduate courses and 120 post-graduate courses to 20,620 undergraduate and postgraduate students. In 2014 Swansea was named University of the Year in the WhatUni.com Student Choice Awards and shortlisted in the same category in the Times Higher Education awards.
Campus
For most of its history, Swansea University operated exclusively from the Singleton Park Campus. However, owing to rapid expansion, the university developed a 65-acre, £450 million beachfront science and innovation Bay Campus which opened in September 2015. Since 2015, Swansea University has operated as a dual-campus university with the ‘Park Campus’ located in its traditional Singleton Park grounds, and the Bay Campus, at Crymlyn Burrows.
Programs
- Accounting
- Actuarial Science
- Adult Continuing Education
- Aerospace Engineering
- American Studies
- Applied Medical Sciences
- Audiology
- Biochemistry and Medical Biochemistry
- Biological Sciences
- Business
- Cardiac Physiology
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Children and Young People
- Civil Engineering
- Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology
- Computer Science
- Creative Writing
- Criminology
- Cyfryngau a Chyfathrebu
- Cymraeg/Welsh
- Economics
- Education
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Engineering
- Engineering Foundation
- English Language
- English Literature
- Finance
- French
- Gender
- Genetics and Medical Genetics
- Geo-Informatics
- Geography
- German
- Health
- Health Science
- Health and Social Care
- Healthcare Science
- History
- Humanities Foundation
- Italian
- Law
- Management Foundation
- Mandarin
- Marine Biology
- Marketing
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Media and Communication Studies
- Medical Engineering
- Medicine
- Medieval Studies
- Midwifery
- Modern Languages
- Neurophysiology
- Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy
- Nursing
- Osteopathy
- PPE – Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Paramedic Science
- Pharmacology
- Pharmacy
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Politics and International Relations
- Population Health
- Psychology
- Respiratory and Sleep Sciences
- Social Policy
- Social Sciences
- Social Work
- Sociology
- Spanish – Hispanic Studies
- Sports Science
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
- Tourism
- Translation and Interpreting
- War and Society
- Welsh/Cymraeg
- Zoology
Student life
Swansea University Students’ Union (Welsh: Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Abertawe) is the students’ union for Swansea University. The Union supports more than 140 student clubs including Afro Caribbean, Chinese, Hellenic and Indian societies, among others. The Union runs student bars and nightclubs, a travel shop offering trips around the UK and Europe, a radio station, nursery, launderette and shops.
Sports
Swansea and Cardiff University compete in an annual varsity competition, known as the Welsh version of the Oxbridge event, which includes the Welsh Varsity rugby match and The Welsh Boat Race.
The majority of Swansea University’s individual and team training takes place at the dedicated Sports Village, off campus on Sketty Lane. In the same complex as the Wales National Pool, the Sports Village is home to outdoor football and rugby pitches, a running track, an indoor athletics centre, hockey pitches, racquet courts and a gym, which is open to both students and the general public. On the Singleton Park university campus itself sits ‘The Shed’, where various university sports teams train and public classes take place.
Xtreme Radio
Xtreme Radio is the radio station of the University, run by students. It was founded in November 1968 as Action Radio, making it the third oldest student radio station in the UK and oldest in Wales. It broadcasts to various areas around campus and is available worldwide on the internet. The station plays a wide variety of music, as well as having a number of specialist programmes including talk and sports shows.
