Egypt Centre, Swansea University
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, former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea
1996 – University of Wales, Swansea
2007 – Swansea University , type=
Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
, endowment=£6.1 million (2017) , administrative_staff=3290 , chancellor=
Dame Jean Thomas Dame Jean Olwen Thomas, (born 1 October 1942) is a Welsh biochemist, former Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and Chancellor of Swansea University. Early life and education Thomas was born in Treboeth, Swansea to John Robert and Lo ...
, vice_chancellor=Professor
Paul Boyle Paul Joseph Boyle, (born 16 November 1964) is a British geographer, academic, and academic administrator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester between 2014 and 2019. He had been Professor (highest academic rank), Professor o ...
, students= , undergrad= , postgrad= , city=
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, country=Wales, United Kingdom , coordinates= , campus=Suburban/coastal , colours=Academic: blue, silver and black
Athletic Union: green and white , affiliations= ACU
EUA
University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff ...

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...
, website= Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
located in
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the
University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff ...
. 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 three faculties across its two campuses which are located on the coastline of
Swansea Bay Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal ...
. The Singleton Park Campus is set in the grounds of
Singleton Park Singleton Park ( cy, Parc Singleton) is the largest urban park in the city of Swansea. It is located in Sketty. The park comprises 250 acres of land. An ornamental garden is located to the south, near the entrance to Swansea University, and a wa ...
to the west of
Swansea city centre Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centr ...
. The £450 million Bay Campus, which opened in September 2015, is located next to Jersey Marine Beach to the east of Swansea in the
Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county bor ...
area. It is the third largest university in Wales in terms of number of students. It offers about 450 undergraduate courses, 280 postgraduate taught and 150 postgraduate research courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students.


History


Foundations

The University College, Swansea, (as it was known then), was established in 1920, opening its doors on 5 October. At the time, it was the youngest of the four colleges of the University of Wales. It was established on the recommendations of a Royal Commission set up in 1916. The college was founded on what were perceived as the needs and the wants of the local area, and Swansea's main industries in particular. The Park Campus houses the oldest parts of the university's estate, including
Singleton Abbey Singleton Abbey ( cy, Abaty Singleton) is a large, mainly 19th-century mansion in Swansea, Wales. Today, the buildings are used to house administration offices for Swansea University. They can be found at the eastern end of the Swansea Universit ...
, a large eighteenth-century mansion which was the ancestral home of the
Vivian family Vivian may refer to: *Vivian (name), a given name and also a surname Toponyms * Vivian, Louisiana, U.S. * Vivian, South Dakota, U.S. * Vivian, West Virginia, U.S. * Vivian Island, Nunavut, Canada * Ballantrae, Ontario, a hamlet in Stouffville, ...
, having been bought by the prominent industrialist,
John Henry Vivian John Henry Vivian Royal Society, FRS (9 August 1785 – 10 February 1855) was a Welsh people, Welsh industrialist and politician of Cornwall, Cornish wikt:extraction, extraction. He was a member of the Vivian family (British Isles), Vivian fami ...
. Swansea University's foundation stone was laid in 1920 by
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
in July 1920, welcoming 89 students, of whom eight were female. Subjects taught from the beginning of the college were the sciences, mathematics, metallurgy and engineering. The professors were A.R. Richardson (mathematics), E.J. Evans (physics), J.E. Coates (chemistry), A.E. Trueman (geology), C.A. Edwards (metallurgy) and F. Bacon (engineering). The university was granted a coat of arms by the
College of Heralds The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovereig ...
in 1921 with the motto ''Gweddw Crefft Heb Ei Dawn'', translated as 'technical skill is bereft without culture.' Arts subjects were not taught immediately in 1920, but started in the following 'session', 1921–22. The first professors in those initial departments were D. Emrys Evans (classics), W.D. Thomas (English language and literature), Henry Lewis (Welsh), E. Ernest Hughes (History), F.A. Cavenagh (education) and Mary Williams (French). Williams was the first woman to be appointed to a chair in the United Kingdom. This met with some reaction from senior men at the college, one of whom she would later marry.
Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis) (15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist, supporter of Welsh independence and was a co-found ...
, the well-known Welsh language writer and activist, became a member of staff in 1922 although he ran up against controversy in 1936/37 for trying to set fire to a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
bombing school on the
Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...
. He was tried at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
and sent to prison for nine months. When Singleton Abbey and its surrounding land was handed to the college in 1923, arts subjects were moved there from the college's temporary site in Mount Pleasant. Student numbers remained relatively small until the Second World War. Swansea acquired departments of philosophy in 1925, German in 1931, economics in 1937, social policy in 1947, political theory and government in 1954 – the same year that a civil engineering and a geography department were added. In 1961 Swansea became a centre for Russian and East European studies, while Italian and Spanish joined the Department of French. There were many notable staff members at the university in the period, including the long-serving female professor of botany, Florence Mockeridge. Another was Glanmor Williams (history) who retired in 1982. Other well-known staff members were the author of novels such as ''
Lucky Jim ''Lucky Jim'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1954 by Victor Gollancz. It was Amis's first novel and won the 1955 Somerset Maugham Award for fiction. The novel follows the exploits of the eponymous James (Jim) Dixon, a reluctant ...
'' and '' That Uncertain Feeling'',
Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...
, who lectured in English in the 1950s and early 1960s; Rush Rhees, an expert on Wittgensteinian philosophy, who was a member of staff from 1940 to 1966; and Kenneth O. Morgan (now Lord Morgan of Aberdyfi) who was a junior history lecturer from 1958 to 1966.


Post-war campus development

In 1947, John Fulton, the university principal, had designs on creating the UK's first contained university campus. Located in the vast expanse of Singleton Park, the university only had 2 permanent buildings; Singleton Abbey and the library. The 1960s saw the university embark on a large campus development programme, aiming to fulfill Fulton's plan of becoming a self-contained community within the city. Along with new halls of residence, a Maths and Science Tower was built, with College House – later renamed Fulton House.


Campus

For most of its history, Swansea University operated exclusively from the
Singleton Park Singleton Park ( cy, Parc Singleton) is the largest urban park in the city of Swansea. It is located in Sketty. The park comprises 250 acres of land. An ornamental garden is located to the south, near the entrance to Swansea University, and a wa ...
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 then, 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. The Bay campus has been developed on a 65-acre beachfront site between Fabian Way and Jersey Marine beach at Crymlyn Burrows. It houses much of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the School of Management, a Great Hall seating 800, a library offering views over a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and student accommodation, as well as several research institutes.


Sports

Swansea Bay Sports Park facilities include, five minutes' walk from the Singleton Park Campus, the 50-metre Wales National Pool Swansea, eight-lane outdoor athletics track, six-lane indoor track and training centre, floodlit playing fields including rugby, football, lacrosse and cricket pitches, artificial hockey pitches, a sports hall, tennis and squash courts, a climbing wall and spin room. Facilities at the Bay Campus include a sports hall, multi-use games area, and gym. The University also owns training pitches in the north of the city, in Fairwood, which it has developed alongside
Swansea City A.F.C. Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
During the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, the university hosted the training camps for the Mexican and New Zealand paralympic teams and the Ireland triathlon team. In 2014, it hosted the
IPC Athletics European Championships The World Para Athletics European Championships (''European Para Athletics Championships''), known prior to 2018 as the IPC Athletics European Championships is an event organized by World Para Athletics, the international athletics federation estab ...
. Furthermore, in 2015 it hosted the training camps of the
Canada national rugby union team The Canada national rugby union team (french: Équipe du Canada de rugby à XV) represents Canada in men's international rugby union competitions and is governed by Rugby Canada. Canada is classified by World Rugby as a tier two rugby nation and ...
and the
Fiji national rugby union team The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union competes every four years at the Rugby World Cup, and their best performances were the 1987 and 2007 tournaments when they defeated Argentina and Wales resp ...
in preparation for the
2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...
. Sports science at the university ranks 13th in the Complete University Guide Sports Science Rankings 2023. The department has links with
Swansea City A.F.C. Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
,
Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
and
Welsh Athletics Welsh Athletics (WA; cy, Athletau Cymru) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Wales. It was set up as a limited company in 2007, replacing the former Athletic Association of Wales. Welsh Athletics is part of UK Athletics, the natio ...
. Former scholars include Wales rugby union player
Alun Wyn Jones Alun Wyn Jones (born 19 September 1985) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player. Jones also holds the records for the most ...
, Olympic swimmer
Georgia Davies Georgia Beth Davies (born 11 October 1990) is a British competition swimmer who has represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games and European championships, and swam for Wales in the Commonwealth Games. She has won gold in the Commonwealth Ga ...
, Paralympian swimmer Liz Johnson and Paralympian
boccia Boccia ( ) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – '. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes ...
player David Smith. Swansea is in the top quarter of the British University's sporting leagues. It competes with Cardiff University in the Welsh Varsity tournament, the largest student sports event in Wales. This includes
The Welsh Boat Race The Welsh Boat Race, also known as the Welsh University Boat Race and The Welsh Varsity Boat Race, is an annual rowing race in Wales between the Swansea University Rowing Club and the Cardiff University Rowing Club, rowed between competing ei ...
and the showcase rugby union varsity match which attracted 16,000 students to Swansea's
Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...
in 2015.


Wales National Pool

The
Wales National Pool The Wales National Pool ( cy, Pwll Cenedlaethol Cymru) is a 50-metre swimming pool in the Sketty area of Swansea, Wales. The main pool is 50 m long and 21 m wide, so it does not meet the FINA definition of an Olympic size pool. History The ...
, next to the Singleton Park Campus, is a 50-metre pool built to
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
standards. The facility, which also has a 25m × 9.5m training pool and 1,200 spectator seats, is HQ of Swim Wales. The pool, one of five of
British Swimming British Swimming is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Great Britain.
's Intensive Training Centres (ITC), was used to train swimmers for the
London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
was built with funding from
Sport Wales Sport Wales ( Welsh: ''Chwaraeon Cymru'') is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim t ...
, Swansea Council and Swansea University. It is home to the Swim Wales National Performance Centre, a hub for elite and performance swimming in Wales. This has included disability swimming under renowned coach Billy Pye who has trained several Paralympians in Swansea, including
Ellie Simmonds Eleanor May Simmonds, OBE (born 11 November 1994) is a British former Paralympian swimmer who competed in S6 events. She came to national attention when she competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning two gold medals for Gre ...
and Liz Johnson. University sports science researchers provide back-up to the hub. The centre is also home to Swansea University Swimming and City of Swansea Aquatics.


Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Egypt Centre)

Located in the Taliesin building, the Egypt Centre is open to the public. More than 4,000 items are in its collection. Most were collected by the pharmacist and entrepreneur Sir
Henry Wellcome Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (August 21, 1853 – July 25, 1936) was an American pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He founded the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Company with his colleague Silas Burroughs in 1880, which is one of the fo ...
. Others came from the British Museum, the Royal Edinburgh Museum, National Museums and Galleries of Wales Cardiff, the Royal Albert Museum and Art Gallery and private donors. Staff lecture museum groups and other outside bodies on volunteering, social inclusion and how to widen community participation with university museums. School parties regularly visit for interactive events.


Organisation and administration


Governance

Swansea received its
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
in 1920 and like many universities is governed by its
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
that is set out in its
statutes A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
and a
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
. The governing body of Swansea University is its Council, which is supported by the Senate and the Court. * The Council consists of 29 members including the Chancellor, Pro-chancellors, Vice-chancellor, Treasurer, Pro-vice-chancellors, staff and student members, city council representation and a majority of lay members. The council is responsible for all of the University's activities and has a well-developed committee structure to help discharge its powers and duties. * The Senate is the main academic body of the university and is responsible for teaching and research. Most of its 200 members are academics but it also includes representatives of the Students' Union and the
Athletic Union An athletic union or athletics union (AU) usually refers to the group of student sports clubs within a university or other institute of higher education, in the United Kingdom. General information Sports clubs affiliate to their athletic union fo ...
. The Senate is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, who is the head of the university both academically and administratively. * The Court consists of more than 300 members representing stakeholders from local to national institutions. It meets annually to discuss the university's annual report, its financial statements and issues in
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
. List of vice-chancellors Principal * 1920 to 1926:
Franklin Sibly Thomas Franklin Sibly K.B.E. (25 October 1883 – 13 April 1948) was a British geologist who had a distinguished career in University administration, being first Principal of University College, Swansea (1920), and later Vice-Chancellor of the Univ ...
; first principal * 1927 to 1947: C. A. Edwards * 1947 to 1959: John Fulton * 1960 to 1965:
J. H. Parry John Horace Parry CMG, MBE ( Handsworth, Birmingham, England, 26 April 1914 – Cambridge, Massachusetts, 25 August 1982) was a distinguished maritime historian, who served as Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs at Harvard Univer ...
* 1965 to 1974: Frank Llewellyn Jones * 1974 to 1982: Robert Walter Steel * 1982 to 1994 Brian Clarkson Vice-Chancellor * 1994 to 2003:
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
* 2003 to 2019:
Richard B. Davies Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
* ''2019 onward'':
Paul Boyle Paul Joseph Boyle, (born 16 November 1964) is a British geographer, academic, and academic administrator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester between 2014 and 2019. He had been Professor (highest academic rank), Professor o ...


Faculties and Schools

Swansea University's academic departments are organised into three faculties, which include a total of eleven schools: Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication School of Management Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law School of Social Sciences Medicine, Health and Life Science Swansea University Medical School School of Psychology School of Health and Social Care Science and Engineering School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering School of Mathematics and Computer Science School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics School of Engineering and Applied Sciences


School of Culture and Communication

The school offers courses in American studies; classics, ancient history, and Egyptology; English language, teaching English as a second or foreign language, and applied linguistics; English literature and creative writing; film and visual culture; history; media, communications, journalism, and public relations; modern languages, translation, and interpreting; and Welsh. In spring 2006, M Wynn Thomas and Dai Smith established the Library of Wales series as an offshoot of the school which has influenced Welsh Government policy to benefit the creative industries, cultural tourism and education.


School of Management

The School of Management is a leading UK provider of management, finance and accounting education, with 100% of its research rated internationally excellent or world-leading in the 2021
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
. In 2015, the school relocated to the University's Bay Campus and is home to over 2,000 students, 150 members of staff and a range of industry partners, including The Bevan Commission, Fujitsu, Greenaway Scott, and AgorIP. The School of Management provides a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including accounting and finance, business management, economics, tourism, and marketing. The school ranks in the UK top 30 for business and economics graduate prospects, and top 10 for accounting and finance. Alongside teaching, the school also houses various research centres including The Centre for Visitor Economy Research (CVER), Emerging Markets Research Centre (EMaRC), The Hawkes Centre for Empirical Finance, Swansea iLab, Welsh Economy Labour Markets Evaluation Research Centre (WELMERC), The Bevan Commission, The Centre for Health and Environmental Management Research and Innovation (CHEMRI), Centre for People and Organisation.


Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law

The
Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
School of Law is the largest
law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
in Wales and ranks third in the UK for criminology and 22nd in the UK for law (The Times Good University Guide 2019). Swansea University opened its School of Law in 1994, in order to complement its departments in engineering, the sciences, and arts and humanities. Known previously as the College of Law and Criminology, the school's name changed on 14 October 2017, as part of a ceremony including the conferment of an honorary doctorate on
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
. The school is situated at the Singleton Campus but intends to move to purpose-built premises on the university's Bay Campus within the next few years. This new development will house commercial law firms, technology companies, national and international agencies, along with the academics and students of the School. Teaching at the School of Law comprises undergraduate, postgraduate and professional courses. Undergraduate programmes include qualifying law degrees, criminology degrees and joint honours programmes. Postgraduate programmes include LLMs in shipping and trade, human rights, an MA in applied criminal justice and criminology and research degrees. Professional courses on offer include the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course. Students are taught in lectures, discussion groups and interactive seminars by academics with extensive industry experience. In the
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
2021, 87.5% of its research environment was rated internationally excellent and 78% of its research overall was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. This research encompasses the school's numerous research centres including the Centre for Criminal Justice and Criminology, Cyber Threats Research Centre, The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, the Observatory on Human Rights of Children, and the Governance and Human Rights Research Group.


Engineering

Engineering has been studied at Swansea University since its beginning in 1920, and the engineering departments are now based in two schools on the Bay Campus - the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering. In the 2021
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
Engineering at Swansea University rated a 100% world-leading and internationally excellent research environment. Research centres in the schools include: Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering (ZCCE); Materials Research Centre (MRC); Systems and Process Engineering Centre (SPEC); Future Manufacturing Research Institute (FMRI); Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine Research Centre (A-STEM).


School of Health and Social Care

Swansea University's School of Health and Social Care offers courses in health and social care, healthcare science, nursing and midwifery, occupational therapy, osteopathy, operating department practice, paramedic science, and social work. It ranks fourth in the UK for Health Studies in the Complete University Guide 2023 and in the top ten for Nursing in The Guardian University Guide 2022. Research centres include: the Centre for Global Burns Injury Policy and Research; Centre for Innovative Ageing; Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translational Research; Swansea Centre for Health Economics; Swansea Centre for Improvement and Innovation; Developing Evidence Enriched Practice (DEEP).


Medical School

Swansea University Medical School Swansea University Medical School is a medical school on Swansea University's Singleton campus. It is linked to additional teaching centres located throughout South and West Wales, including Cefn Coed Hospital, Singleton Hospital and Morriston ...
is ranked fourth in the UK according to the Guardian University Guide 2022. In the 2014 and 2021
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
its research impact was considered outstanding in terms of reach and significance. Established in 2004, the Medical School works closely with government, industry and the NHS, in particular Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, over teaching, research and innovation. It also has two Institute of Life Science research centres, equipped with clinical trials, medical imaging, research and business development facilities and a Centre for NanoHealth. Its research highlights include DNA damage and the safety of nanomaterials, the control of fungal diseases, children and young people's mental health, avoiding unnecessary medical interventions, and cholesterol in human health and disease.


Research

Swansea is a research-led university, ranking 48th in the UK in the 2021
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
(REF). The university submitted the work of a record number of researchers (578) for assessment to REF2021, a 56% increase on the 370 submitted in 2014. It meant a growth in the university's overall proportion of world-leading and internationally excellent research from 80% in 2014 to 86% in 2021. Almost a third (32%) of its outputs were rated 4* world-leading (up from 21% in 2014), and 91% of its research environment is rated 4* world-leading or 3* internationally excellent, with 86% of its research judged outstanding and very considerable in terms of impact - reach and significance. Medicine and Life Science continue to be ranked in the UK top five overall at 4th in Allied Health Professions (UOA3), and Mathematics is ranked joint 16th in the UK and is joint top for impact, with 100% rated as outstanding. Geography is ranked 20th in the UK, climbing 11 places with 90% 4* world-leading or 3* internationally excellent research. A third of the university's units of assessment rated 100% for their outstanding and very considerable impact.


Selected research centres and institutes

* Centre for Nanohealth * Research Institute for Arts and Humanities – which includes the Global Drug Policy Observatory * Institute of Life Sciences * Research Institute for Applied Social Sciences * Welsh Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience * SPECIFIC * CSAR * Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI)


Academic profile


Rankings and reputation

The university is listed as one of the top 500 universities in the
World University Rankings College and university rankings order the best institutions in higher education based on factors that vary depending on the ranking. Some rankings evaluate institutions within a single country, while others assess institutions worldwide. Ranking ...
. Swansea is ranked 24th in the Guardian 2022 University guide. Swansea University's best ranked departments include
Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and Mathematics, ranked 4th and 16th respectively in the 2021
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
. The Law Department also ranks highly, coming in at 22nd in the Times Good University Guide 2019 in the UK, as well as in the 151–200 category in QS World Rankings. Overall, Swansea University is ranked 48th in the 2021
Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...
. National Student Survey results (for 2021) rank Swansea 12th in the UK for "overall satisfaction", with 82% saying they are satisfied with their course overall. The survey ranked Swansea number one for Archaeology; Biology (non-specific); English Language; and Others in Business and Management. Swansea University is top in Wales in the 2023 Guardian University Guide and in the 2022 Student Crowd university rankings, which places it 15th in the UK.


International partnerships

In recent years, Swansea University has established many partnerships with leading universities in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. Swansea University has a strategic partnership with
Wuhan Union Hospital The Wuhan Union Hospital () is a largest teaching hospital and oldest historical hospital was since 1866 in Jianghan District, Wuhan, Hubei, China. History The hospital was founded by Griffith John on September 8, 1866, as Hankow Renji Hospital ...
in
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The hospital was founded by Swansea missionary Reverend Doctor
Griffith John Griffith John ( zh, t=楊格非, p=Yáng Géfēi; 14 December 1831 – 25 July 1912) was a Welsh Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society ...
. As a result of this partnership, in 2015, the College of Medicine hosted the 2nd UK-China Medical Forum at
Singleton Hospital Singleton Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Singleton) is a general hospital in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board. History The first stage of the hospital, which included outpatients' facilities, was complete ...
. Swansea University has also established a joint medical centre at the Wuhan Union Hospital to engage in clinical collaboration. In 2020, the partnership enabled health experts from across Wales to learn from some of the first medics to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. in 2013, Swansea University established a partnership with
Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
and
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. The universities collaborate on research as well as exchange visits by academics and students. Since then, the partnership has expanded to include six more partner institutions in Texas:
University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
,
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
,
Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...
,
Houston Methodist Research Institute Houston Methodist Hospital is the flagship quaternary care hospital of Houston Methodist academic medical center. Located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, Houston Methodist Hospital was established in 1919 during the height of the ...
, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In 2012, Swansea University established a partnership with the
Joseph Fourier University Joseph Fourier University (UJF, french: Université Joseph Fourier, also known as Grenoble I) was a French university situated in the city of Grenoble and focused on the fields of sciences, technologies and health. It is now part of the Universit ...
in
Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
with the aim of beginning joint degree programmes, collaborative bids for European funding and student and staff exchanges particularly in the subject areas of Medicine, Computer Science and Engineering. This partnership has now grown to involve a community of universities and research organisations in the Rhone‐Alpes region of France with a combined student population of over 65,000. The partnership involves research collaboration, staff and student exchanges, and sharing facilities and best practice. In 2007, the university set up a programme along with the local
NHS trust An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...
,
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) ( cy, Bwrdd lechyd Prifysgol Bae Abertawe) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, in the south-west of Wales. Established as Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Healt ...
, to establish a partnership with the School of Medicine at the
University of the Gambia The University of the Gambia (UTG) is an institution of higher education located in Sere Kunda, the largest city in the Gambia. History The campus was founded in 1998 in Kotu-Kanifing, a suburb of Sere Kunda. It was not until March 1999 that t ...
in
The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
. The purpose of this partnership is to improve health care outcomes as well as collaborate on clinical care, health service delivery, teaching and research. This programme also provides opportunity for local doctors and medical students to pursue a placement in either the Gambia or Swansea Bay. In December 2014, this programme was awarded a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Gold Star for its contribution to the improvement of Gambian health outcomes. Swansea University collaborates with Navitas with International College Wales Swansea to provide foundation, 1st year degree and Pre-Masters programmes on campus. In 2021 Swansea University launched a Sports and Exercise Science partnership with the
University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and Swansea also offers a dual degree programme with
Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Since its inception in 2016, Swansea University has been a member of the Jiangsu–UK 20+20 World-Class University Consortium, involving more than 30 universities from the UK and
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
Province in China.


Student life

Swansea University Students' Union Swansea University Students' Union ( cy, Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Abertawe) is the students' union for Swansea University and is part of the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom. The Students' Union aims to promote the interests of ...
(Welsh: ''Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Abertawe'') is the students' union for Swansea University. Known as the SU, it supports more than 170 student clubs including
African-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
, 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. Profits are reinvested into improving the student experience, including supporting students through its advice and support centre. Services include money advice and support office, student counselling, a health centre, dentist, chaplains, an academic success programme, specialist tuition and residential services.


Sports

Sport Swansea offers more than 50 sports clubs and has over 5000 active members, covering sports ranging from rugby and aikido, dodgeball, and hockey to tae kwon do. Swansea and
Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...
compete in an annual varsity competition, known as the Welsh version of the
Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...
event, which includes the
Welsh Varsity The Welsh Varsity is an annual sporting event contested by Cardiff University and Swansea University, usually in early April. The sports contested include rugby union, hockey, cricket, squash, badminton, lacrosse, rowing, golf, basketball, footba ...
rugby match and
The Welsh Boat Race The Welsh Boat Race, also known as the Welsh University Boat Race and The Welsh Varsity Boat Race, is an annual rowing race in Wales between the Swansea University Rowing Club and the Cardiff University Rowing Club, rowed between competing ei ...
. Most of Swansea University's individual and team training takes place at the Swansea Bay Sports Park off campus on Sketty Lane. In the same complex as the
Wales National Pool The Wales National Pool ( cy, Pwll Cenedlaethol Cymru) is a 50-metre swimming pool in the Sketty area of Swansea, Wales. The main pool is 50 m long and 21 m wide, so it does not meet the FINA definition of an Olympic size pool. History The ...
, 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. Several sports clubs also use facilities on the Bay Campus.


Student media

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. The Students' Union also runs the Waterfront news service and SUTV television.


Student accommodation

Swansea University provides approximately 3200 places in University halls across its two campuses, as well as some 1300 in the purpose-built Hendrefoelan Student Village and more in off-campus residences at Beck House. There are also a number of university managed properties in the Uplands and Brynmill areas of the city.


Bay Campus halls

The Bay Campus halls have about 2000 rooms and will in due course replace the student accommodation in the Hendrefoelan Student village. The Hendrefoelan estate is 2.5 miles from the Singleton Park campus, just off the main Swansea to Gower road, set amongst mature woodland with open grassy areas. The student village is now undergoing a phased redevelopment through the construction of 3 and 4-bedroom family homes.


Singleton Campus halls

There are nine halls that make up the campus residences providing accommodation to around 1182 students. The halls offer a combination of part and self-catered rooms and a choice of standard or ensuite study rooms. Three of these halls (Caswell, Langland and Oxwich) were completed in 2004 and the original halls (Kilvey, Preseli, Rhossili and Cefn Bryn, formerly known as Sibly, Lewis Jones, Mary Williams Annexe and Mary Williams respectively) have undergone some refurbishment in recent years. Penmaen and Horton are the newest addition to the campus residences providing 351 self-catered, ensuite study rooms. Many rooms have views over the bay or across the park.


Tŷ Beck / Beck House

Tŷ Beck consists of six large Victorian town houses situated in the Uplands area of Swansea, approximately a mile from the Singleton campus. It predominantly provides rooms for postgraduates and students with families, as well as overseas exchange students.


Notable alumni and academics


Academics

* Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE English lecturer * Amy Brown, Professor of Child Health * Tom Cheesman, reader in German * Dame
June Clark June Clark may refer to: * June Clark (nurse) (born 1941), British nurse, educator, and academic * June Clark (artist) (born 1941), Canadian artist * June Clark (musician) (1900–1963), American jazz trumpeter and cornetist * June Clark (bowls) (b ...
, Professor of Nursing * Siwan Davies, Professor of Climate Science *
Ralph A. Griffiths Ralph A. Griffiths is a historian and an emeritus professor at Swansea University. Life Griffiths was born and brought up in a mining valley between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. He attended "one of Wales' good grammar schools and was well taught i ...
, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History * C. E. M. Hansel, Emeritus Professor of
Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
* A. E. Heath, Professor of Philosophy *
Julian Hopkin Julian Hopkin CBE is a physician, researcher and medical teacher. In 2004, he became the founding Head of the new Medical School at Swansea University. He is now Professor of Experimental Medicine at Swansea University Medical School and Honorary P ...
CBE, founder of Medical School; awarded CBE in 2011 for service to medicine *
Christine James Christine James (born 2 February 1954) is a Welsh poet and academic. She served as the first female Archdruid of Wales from June 2013 until June 2016. She first presided over the ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod in the 2013 Eisteddfod in Denb ...
, Professor of Welsh *
Gareth Jenkins Gareth John James Jenkins (born 11 September 1951) is a former Wales, Welsh rugby union rugby player, and former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Welsh national team. After a long and distinguished career at Llanelli RFC, Jenki ...
, Director of Research of the Medical School; a "Research Leader" for
Health and Care Research Wales Health and Care Research Wales is a networked organisation, supported by the Welsh Government, which brings together a wide range of partners across NHS Wales, universities and research institutions, local authorities, and others. The organisation ...
*
Hilary Lappin-Scott Hilary Margaret Lappin-Scott FLS FLSW PFHEA FAAM FRSB (born 1955) is a British microbiologist whose field of research is microbial biofilms. In 2009 Hilary was elected as the second female President of the Society for General Microbiology ...
, Chair in Microbiology and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Strategic Development and External Relations *
Jon Latimer Jonathan David Latimer (1964 – 4 January 2009) was an historian and writer based in Wales. His books include ''Operation Compass 1940'' (Osprey, 2000), ''Tobruk 1941'' (Osprey, 2001), ''Deception in War'' (John Murray, 2001), ''Alamein'' (J ...
, historian * Keith Lloyd, Dean and Head of Medical School; Chair of Welsh Psychiatric Society * Ronan Lyons, Clinical Professor of Public Health; Director of the National Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research; Director of the Farr Institute Centre for the Improvement of Population Health *
Robin Milner Arthur John Robin Gorell Milner (13 January 1934 – 20 March 2010), known as Robin Milner or A. J. R. G. Milner, was a British computer scientist, and a Turing Award winner.
, computer scientist * Florence Annie Mockeridge, botanist, Dean of Science 1933–35 *
Tavi Murray Tavi Murray, is a Glaciology, glaciologist, the eighth woman to be awarded the Polar Medal. Education After school in Twickenham Murray gained a Bachelor of Science, BSc degree with first class honours in Physics and Computer Science from the Un ...
, glacioloigist *
James G. Oldroyd James Gardner Oldroyd (25 April 1921 – 22 November 1982''The Times'' November 25, 1982 page 26 "Deaths") was a British mathematician and noted rheologist. He formulated the Oldroyd-B model to describe the viscoelastic behaviour of non-Newtonia ...
, mathematician and noted rheologist *
David Olive David Ian Olive ( ; 16 April 1937 – 7 November 2012) was a British theoretical physicist. Olive made fundamental contributions to string theory and duality theory, he is particularly known for his work on the GSO projection and Montonen–Ol ...
, physicist * Gyan Pande, Emeritus Professor *
Clive Ponting Clive Sheridan Ponting (13 April 1946 – 28 July 2020)Richard Norton-Taylor, "The Ponting Affair", Cecil Woolf, London, 1985, p. 14. was a senior British civil servant and historian. He was best known for leaking documents about the sinkin ...
, Reader in international relations *
Dewi Zephaniah Phillips Dewi Zephaniah Phillips (24 November 1934 – 25 July 2006), known as D. Z. Phillips or simply DZ, was a Welsh philosopher. He was a leading proponent of the Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion. He had an academic career spanning five decad ...
, prominent Wittgenstinian philosopher of religion *
Valerie Randle Valerie Randle is a materials engineer who specialised in electron backscatter diffraction, grain boundary engineering, and has written a number of text books on the subject She was Welsh Woman of the Year in 1998 and in the same year was awa ...
, Professor in Metallurgy *
Rush Rhees Rush Rhees (; 19 March 1905 – 22 May 1989) was an American philosopher. He is principally known as a student, friend, and literary executor of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. With G. E. M. Anscombe he was co-editor of Wittgenstein's post ...
, philosopher * Martin Sheldon, Professor of Reproductive Immunobiology; Editor of ''American Journal of Reproductive Immunology''; Fellow of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the v ...
* Andrew Tettenborn, professor of law *
John Williams CBE John Gordon Williams is a British health services researcher and clinical academic gastroenterologist. He led the establishment of the Postgraduate Medical School in Swansea, created and developed the Health Informatics Unit at the Royal College ...
, led establishment of Postgraduate Medical School; founding president of Welsh Association for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy * Mary Williams, Chair of Modern Languages *
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...
, philosopher; spent six months in 1941 writing and teaching at Swansea University *
Olgierd Zienkiewicz Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz (18 May 1921 – 2 January 2009) was a British academic of Polish descent, mathematician, and civil engineer. He was born in Caterham, England. He was one of the early pioneers of the finite element method. Since ...
, pioneer of computational methods for engineering * Andrew R Barron, Ser Cymru Chair of Low Carbon Energy and Environment; Director & Founder of ESRI


Alumni


Academia

*
Peter Cottrell Peter James Cottrell (born 1964 ) is a Welsh soldier, sailor, writer, educator and revisionist military historian of the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War. Career Cottrell is the author of the best-selling military history ''The ...
, novelist and historian * Paul Dolan, behavioural scientist *
Paul Moorcraft Paul Leslie Moorcraft (born 1948 in Cardiff, Wales) is the Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis in London and a visiting professor at Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. Biography Personal life M ...
, Professor in Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at
Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...
*
D.Z. Phillips Dewi Zephaniah Phillips (24 November 1934 – 25 July 2006), known as D. Z. Phillips or simply DZ, was a Welsh philosopher. He was a leading proponent of the Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion. He had an academic career spanning five decad ...
, philosopher * Geoffrey Thomas, President of
Kellogg College, Oxford Kellogg College is a graduate-only constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1990 as Rewley House, Kellogg is the university's 36th college and the largest by number of students. It hosts research centres including ...
* Dame Jean Thomas, first female Master at
St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...
*
Colin H. Williams Colin H. Williams (born 1950 in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry, South Wales, UK) is a senior research associate at the VHI, l St Edmund's College, the University of Cambridge, UK. He was formerly a research professor in sociolinguistics, and l ...
, sociolinguist * Sir Glanmor Williams, religious historian * Nigel Addinall, Academic author, French (Hon)Consul


Arts

*
Annabelle Apsion Jane Annabelle Apsion (born 17 September 1960 in Hammersmith, London) is an English actress best known for playing Monica Gallagher in the hit television comedy-drama '' Shameless'' (2004-2013), Joy Wilton in '' Soldier Soldier'' (1991-1995), a ...
, television and film actress *
Richey Edwards Richard James Edwards (born 22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He w ...
, member of rock group
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...
* Stuart Forster, travel journalist and photographer *
John Greening John Greening (born 25 December 1950 in Burnie) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL. Greening attended Montello Primary School and Parklands High as he grew up in the industrial town of Burnie in n ...
, poet, editor and critic * Jonathan Hill, presenter of ''
Wales Tonight ITV News'' Wales at Six'' is the evening news programme broadcast and produced by ITV Cymru Wales. Overview ''Wales at Six'' and all other ITV Wales news programming is broadcast live from studios at Assembly Square in Cardiff Bay, with a Nort ...
'' on
ITV Wales ITV Cymru Wales, previously known as Harlech Television and HTV Wales, is the ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region serving Wales and the West of England. Li ...
*
Jason Mohammad Jason Mohammad (born 17 September 1973) is a Welsh radio and television presenter currently working for the BBC. He is the current host of ''Final Score'' on BBC One on Saturday afternoons. Personal life Mohammad was born and brought up in Car ...
, television/radio presenter for BBC Wales *
Mavis Nicholson Mavis Nicholson (née Mainwaring; 19 October 1930 – 8 September 2022) was a Welsh writer and radio and television broadcaster. She was born in Wales, and worked throughout the United Kingdom. Early life Nicholson was born on 19 October 1930 i ...
, writer and television broadcaster *
Jonny Owen Jonathan Tudor "Jonny" Owen (born 4 July 1971 in Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan) is a British producer, actor and writer who has appeared in TV shows including ''Shameless'', ''Murphy's Law'' and ''My Family''. Owen won a Welsh BAFTA in 2007 fo ...
, Welsh actor, ''Shameless'' and ''Svengali'' Internet series * Charlie Williams, author of ''The Mangel Trilogy'' * Urien Wiliam, Welsh language novelist and playwright *
Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire s ...
, member of rock group Manic Street Preachers * Jack Clothier, founder of
Alcopop! Records Alcopop! Records is a British independent record label, run by Jack Clothier and Kevin Douch formed in 2006 when the pair lived together in East Oxford. The label works with the likes of DZ Deathrays, Johnny Foreigner, Fight Like Apes, Anamana ...


Business

* Ron Jones, Director of
Tinopolis The Tinopolis Group is an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. It produces over 4,500 hours of television annually for more than 200 UK and foreign broadcasters. History Llanelli, Wales, b ...
*
Paul Pindar Sir Paul Pindar (1565–1650) was a merchant and, from 1611 to 1620, was Ambassador of King James I of England to the Ottoman Empire. Born in Wellingborough and educated at Wellingborough School Pindar entered trade as the apprentice to an Ital ...
, Chief Executive of
Capita Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...
*
Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata, GBE (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also the chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, serving also as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. ...
, Indian industrialist, investor, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons who serves as its chairman emeritus.


Politics


=Welsh Parliament (Senedd)

= * Peter Black, MS for South Wales West * Andrew Davies, former MS for Swansea West; former Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery,
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...
*
Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...
, MS for Swansea East *
Val Lloyd Valerie "Val" Lloyd (born 16 November 1943) is a Welsh Labour politician. She represented the constituency of Swansea East at the National Assembly for Wales from 2001 to 2011. Education Born in the Townhill area of Swansea, Glamorgan, Lloyd w ...
, former MS for Swansea East


=Houses of Parliament

= * Lord Anderson of Swansea, former MP *
Mims Davies Miriam Jane Alice Davies (born 2 June 1975), known as Mims Davies, is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Sussex since 2019. She has been serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State fo ...
, MP for Eastleigh and Wales Office Minister *
Caroline Dinenage Caroline Julia Dinenage, Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, (born 28 October 1971), also styled as Dame Caroline Dinenage, is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport since 2010. She was re- ...
, MP for Gosport and Minister for Care *
Nigel Evans Nigel Martin Evans (born 10 November 1957) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire since 1992. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Joint Executive Secretary of t ...
, MP for Ribble Valley *
Hywel Francis David Hywel Francis (6 June 1946 – 14 February 2021) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberavon from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he chaired the Welsh Affairs Committee from 2005 to 2010 and ...
, former MP for Aberavon *
Sylvia Heal Dame Sylvia Lloyd Heal (''née'' Fox; born 20 July 1942) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Halesowen and Rowley Regis from 1997 to 2010, having previously been the MP for Mid Staffordshire from 1 ...
, former MP and former
Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons The speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was elected Speaker on 4 November 2019 ...
* Sian James, former MP for Swansea East *
Anne Main Anne Margaret Main (born 17 May 1957) is a Conservative Party politician who formerly served as the Member of Parliament for St Albans in Hertfordshire. She was elected at the general election of 2005, and was re-elected in 2010, 2015 and ...
, former MP for St Albans *
Rod Richards Roderick Richards (12 March 1947 – 13 July 2019) was a British politician. He was a Conservative before joining UKIP in 2013. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Clwyd North West, in Wales, from 1992 to 1997, when he lost his ...
, former MP for North West Clwyd; former AM for North Wales *
John Sewel, Baron Sewel John Buttifant Sewel, Baron Sewel (), CBE (born 15 January 1946), is a British politician, life peer, and former academic. He was the Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords, its deputy speaker. He is also a former senior vice principal ...
, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords *
Mark Tami Mark Richard Tami (born 3 October 1962) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Alyn and Deeside since 2001. Early life Born in Enfield, north London, Tami was educated at Enfield Grammar School (by ...
, MP for Alyn and Deeside


=International

= *
Shekhar Dutt Shekhar Dutt was the governor of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Earlier he had served on various bureaucratic posts including, as an IAS officer, as Secretary in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. Career Dutt belongs to the 196 ...
, Former governor of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh * Stanislaus A. James, Governor-General of Saint Lucia, 1988–1996 *
Isatou Njie-Saidy Isatou Njie-Saidy (also spelt Aisatu N'Jie-Saidy) (born 5 March 1952) is a Gambian politician. She was Vice President of the Gambia, as well as Secretary of State for Women's Affairs, from 20 March 1997 to 18 January 2017. She is the first Gamb ...
, Vice President of
The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
*
Wictor Sajeni Wictor B Songazaudzu Sajeni was born in Ntchisi, Malawi. He entered politics in 2009 as a member of Parliament for his home village, Ntchisi East, under the leadership of the late Bingu wa Mutharika. He served as the Presidential Advisor to Presid ...
, Deputy Minister of Primary Education in the
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
an government


Science, engineering and technology

* Sir
Jonathan Asbridge Sir Jonathan Elliott Asbridge is an English nurse who was the first president of the UK's Nursing and Midwifery Council and a registrant member for England (Nursing). His first introduction to the caring profession was as a St John Ambulance Cadet ...
, former President of the
Nursing and Midwifery Council The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to prac ...
* Anne Borsay Chair in Medical Humanities *
Edward George Bowen Edward George "Taffy" Bowen, CBE, FRS (14 January 1911 – 12 August 1991) was a Welsh physicist who made a major contribution to the development of radar. He was also an early radio astronomer, playing a key role in the establishment of radioa ...
CBE FRS, radiophysicist * Alan Cox (shared with
University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...
),
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
pioneer *
Jonathan Elphick Jonathan Elphick is a British natural history writer, editor and consultant. He is an eminent ornithologist, a qualified zoologist; Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. He is author of ''The ...
, ornithologist and zoologist *
Lyn Evans Lyn Evans CBE (born Lyndon Rees Evans in 1945), is a Welsh scientist who served as the project leader of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Based at CERN, in 2012 he became the director of the Linear Collider Collaboration, an internatio ...
, CBE, Project Leader,
Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundred ...
, CERN *
Andy Hopper Sir Andrew Hopper (born 1953) is a British-Polish Computer Technologist and entrepreneur. He is treasurer and vice-president of the Royal Society, Professor of Computer Technology, former Head of the University of Cambridge Department of Compu ...
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
FRS, co-founder of
Acorn Computers Ltd The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne i ...
* Lionel Kelleway, natural history broadcaster * Sir
Terry Matthews Sir Terence Hedley Matthews (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire. He was the richest man in Wales until 2012, when he was surpassed by Sir Michael Moritz. He h ...
KBE, technological entrepreneur *
Colin Pillinger Colin Trevor Pillinger, (; 9 May 1943 – 7 May 2014) was an English planetary scientist. He was a founding member of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at Open University in Milton Keynes, he was also the principal inves ...
CBE, planetary scientist *
Graham Ryder Graham Ryder (28 January 1949 – 5 January 2002) was an English geologist and lunar scientist. He was educated at the University of Wales, Swansea, receiving his BSc in 1970. He then earned a PhD in geology from Michigan State University in 1974 ...
, geologist, lunar scientist, posthumous winner of the
Barringer Medal The Barringer Medal recognizes outstanding work in the field of impact cratering and/or work that has led to a better understanding of impact phenomena. The Barringer Medal and Award were established to honor the memory of D. Moreau Barringer Sr. ...
in 2003 * Sir
John Meurig Thomas Sir John Meurig Thomas (15 December 193213 November 2020), also known as JMT, was a Welsh scientist, educator, university administrator, and historian of science primarily known for his work on heterogeneous catalysis, solid-state chemistry, a ...
, chemist *
Evan James Williams Evan James Williams FRS (8 June 1903 – 29 September 1945) was a Welsh experimental physicist who worked in a number of fields with some of the most notable physicists of his day, including Patrick Blackett, Lawrence Bragg, Ernest Rutherford a ...
, physicist


Sports

*
Guillem Bauzà Guillem Bauzà Mayol (born 25 October 1984) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Welsh club Merthyr Town as a striker, second striker or attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career in Wales and England, in representation of several clu ...
, football player for
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
*
Daniel Caines Daniel Stephen Caines (born 15 May 1979) is an English former athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. Early life Caines was born in Solihull. He was educated at Solihull School, a British independent school in the affluent West Midlands t ...
, athlete *
Jazmin Carlin Jazmin Roxy "Jazz" Carlin (born 17 September 1990) is a former British competitive swimmer, who previously represented Wales and the Great Britain swimming team. She competed primarily in endurance freestyle events, and was based at the Univer ...
, British Olympic swimmer * Mike Hooper, former Liverpool goalkeeper *
Rob Howley Robert Howley (born 13 October 1970) is a Welsh former rugby union player and coach. As a player, he won 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain. He was part of the Wales coaching team for many years. He is currently a coaching consultant for th ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and British Lions rugby union international * Liz Johnson, gold medal winner at Beijing Paralympics in swimming *
Alun Wyn Jones Alun Wyn Jones (born 19 September 1985) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player. Jones also holds the records for the most ...
, Welsh rugby union international * Simon Jones, Glamorgan and England cricketer * John McFall, Paralympic sprinter *
Dwayne Peel Dwayne John Peel (born 31 August 1981) is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013. Yo ...
, Welsh rugby union international *
Rhys Priestland Rhys Priestland (born 9 January 1987) is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Cardiff Rugby and the Wales national team. Although he primarily plays as a fly-half, he is also capable of playing at full-back. Born ...
, Welsh rugby union international * James Roberts, Paralympic rower and sitting volleyball * David Smith, boccia * Chris White, English international rugby referee * Marcus Wyatt,
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
skeleton racer


See also

*
Armorial of UK universities The armorial of British universities is the collection of coats of arms of universities in the United Kingdom. Modern arms of universities began appearing in England around the middle of the 15th century, with Oxford's being possibly the oldest ...
*
Academic dress of the University of Wales The academic dress of the former University of Wales was designed for the first graduations in 1893, and has as its main identifying feature a faculty colour scheme involving 'shot silks'. Although the University of Wales no longer exists in its f ...
*
Education in Wales This article provides an overview of education in Wales from early childhood to university and adult skills. Largely state funded and free-at-the-point-of-use at a primary and secondary level, education is compulsory for children in Wales aged f ...
* GLIMPSE Project *
List of universities in Wales There are currently eight universities operating in Wales, all of which receive funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). Although university status in Wales only requires taught degree awarding powers (since 2004), ...
*
List of UK universities This is a list of universities in the United Kingdom (alphabetical by substantive name). Below that are lists of university colleges and other recognised bodies (institutions with degree awarding powers), followed by a list of defunct institution ...
*
Singleton Abbey Singleton Abbey ( cy, Abaty Singleton) is a large, mainly 19th-century mansion in Swansea, Wales. Today, the buildings are used to house administration offices for Swansea University. They can be found at the eastern end of the Swansea Universit ...
*
Technium Technium are a group of buildings in Wales that are part of the property portfolios of local authorities. They have attracted an increasing number of companies as tenants. Technium was originally an innovation programme by the Welsh Government. ...


References


External links


Swansea University

Swansea University Student Union (SUSU) website

Swansea University Athletic Union (SUAU) website
{{authority control
Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...
Universities in Wales Swansea Bay Organisations based in Swansea Educational institutions established in 1920 1920 establishments in Wales Universities UK