, 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 ''Öffentlichk ...
, 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
, students=
, undergrad=
, postgrad=
, city=
Swansea
, 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 Universities UK
, 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 ''Öffentlichk ...
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,
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. 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. The Singleton Park Campus is set in the grounds of
Singleton Park 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 Cen ...
. 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 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, a large eighteenth-century mansion which was the ancestral home of the
Vivian family, having been bought by the prominent industrialist,
John Henry Vivian.
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 Q ...
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 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-fo ...
, 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) an ...
bombing school on the
Llŷn Peninsula. He was tried at the
Old Bailey 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'' 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 and ...
, 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 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.
During the
2012 Summer Olympics, 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. Furthermore, in 2015 it hosted the training camps of the
Canada national rugby union team and the
Fiji national rugby union team in preparation for the
2015 Rugby World Cup.
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.,
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. Former scholars include Wales rugby union player
Alun Wyn Jones, Olympic swimmer
Georgia Davies, Paralympian swimmer
Liz Johnson and Paralympian
boccia 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 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, 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
Swim Wales ( cy, Nofio Cymru) (WASA) (founded 1897 as the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association) is the national governing body of diving, swimming (including open water and synchronised swimming) and water polo, in Wales. It is responsible for est ...
.
The pool, one of five of
British Swimming's Intensive Training Centres (ITC), was used to train swimmers for the
London 2012 Olympics was built with funding from
Sport Wales, 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. 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, but ...
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 entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
that is set out in its
statutes and a
charter. 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. 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 compl ...
.
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
* 1965 to 1974: Frank Llewellyn Jones
* 1974 to 1982:
Robert Walter Steel
Robert Walter Steel CBE (31 July 1915 – 29 December 1997) was a British geographer, who was Professor of Geography at Liverpool University from 1957 to 1974 and Principal of the University College of Swansea from 1974 to 1982.
Life
He was ...
* 1982 to 1994 Brian Clarkson
Vice-Chancellor
* 1994 to 2003:
Robin Williams
* 2003 to 2019:
Richard B. Davies
* ''2019 onward'':
Paul Boyle
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.
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 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 senat ...
.
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 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 Engineering at Swansea University rated a 100% world-leading and internationally excellent research environment.
Research centres in the schools include:
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 ...
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 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 (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. Rankings ...
. Swansea is ranked 24th in the Guardian 2022 University guide.
Swansea University's best ranked departments include
Medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
and Mathematics, ranked 4th and 16th respectively in the 2021
Research Excellence Framework. 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.
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 Province in the 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 ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
,
China. The hospital was founded by Swansea missionary Reverend Doctor
Griffith John. As a result of this partnership, in 2015, the College of Medicine hosted the 2nd UK-China Medical Forum at
Singleton Hospital. 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 and
Texas A&M University. 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,
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 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
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,
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, 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
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 c ...
. 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 security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
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 in
Australia and Swansea also offers a dual degree programme with
Trent University 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 tota ...
. 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 Province in China.
Student life
Swansea University Students' Union (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, 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 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 d ...
event, which includes the
Welsh Varsity rugby match and
The Welsh Boat Race.
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 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
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 and ...
English lecturer
*
Amy Brown, Professor of Child Health
*
Tom Cheesman
Tom Cheesman (born 1961 in Liverpool) is a Reader in German at Swansea University, literary critic and literary translator.
Tom is Principal Investigator on the collaborative, "Version Variation Visualisation" project. which investigates digi ...
, reader in German
* Dame
June Clark, Professor of Nursing
*
Siwan Davies
Siwan Davies FLSW is a Welsh professor of Physical Geography in the department of science at Swansea University.
Research
Davies' research focus is to analyze past climate change and to reconstruct past climate changes. Together with a team of ...
, Professor of Climate Science
*
Ralph A. Griffiths, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History
*
C. E. M. Hansel
Charles Edward Mark Hansel (12 October 1917 – 28 March 2011) was a British psychologist most notable for his criticism of parapsychological studies.
Early life and education
Hansel was born in 1917 in Bedford, England and attended Bedford ...
, Emeritus Professor of
Experimental Psychology
*
A. E. Heath
Archie Edward Heath (6 August 1887 – 18 May 1961) was a philosopher and philosophy professor. Alongside his contemporary Ludwig Wittgenstein, he significantly influenced the 'Swansea School of Philosophy'. He was President of the Rationalist Pr ...
, Professor of Philosophy
*
Julian Hopkin CBE, founder of Medical School; awarded CBE in 2011 for service to medicine
*
Christine James, Professor of Welsh
*
Gareth Jenkins, Director of Research of the Medical School; a "Research Leader" for
Health and Care Research Wales
*
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, historian
*
Keith Lloyd
Keith Lloyd FRCPsych FLSW is the Dean and Head of Swansea University Medical School. He is the Chair of the Welsh Psychiatric Society and of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales and Vice President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Profe ...
, Dean and Head of Medical School; Chair of Welsh Psychiatric Society
*
Ronan Lyons
Ronan Lyons Order of the British Empire, OBE FFPH Faculty of Public Health, FFPHMI Learned Society of Wales, FLSW is the inaugural Clinical Professor of Public Health at Swansea University Medical School. He is Director of the National Centre for ...
, 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, computer scientist
*
Florence Annie Mockeridge
Florence Annie Mockeridge (15 September 1889 – 18 December 1958) was a British botanist and university professor.
Mockeridge was a lecturer at King's College, London, 1917-1922, and lecturer (and later professor) at University College Swansea ...
, botanist, Dean of Science 1933–35
*
Tavi Murray, glacioloigist
*
James G. Oldroyd, mathematician and noted rheologist
*
David Olive, physicist
*
Gyan Pande
Gyanendra Nath Pande or Gyan N Pande (died 20 January 2020) was a British civil engineer of Indian descent associated with developments in computational engineering. He was Emeritus Professor at the Centre for Civil and Computational Engineering ...
, Emeritus Professor
*
Clive Ponting, Reader in international relations
*
Dewi Zephaniah Phillips, prominent Wittgenstinian philosopher of religion
*
Valerie Randle, Professor in Metallurgy
*
Rush Rhees, philosopher
*
Martin Sheldon
Martin Sheldon is a veterinarian and scientific researcher. He is Professor Emeritus at Swansea University Medical School.
Career
Born in Yorkshire, Sheldon studied at Bradford Grammar School and then at the University of Liverpool School of Vete ...
, Professor of Reproductive Immunobiology; Editor of ''American Journal of Reproductive Immunology''; Fellow of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
*
Andrew Tettenborn
Andrew Tettenborn is a British legal academic and writer who is a professor of law at Swansea University's Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, specialising in commercial law and the common law.
Education
Tettenborn completed an MA and an ...
, 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, philosopher; spent six months in 1941 writing and teaching at Swansea University
*
Olgierd Zienkiewicz, 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, novelist and historian
*
Paul Dolan, behavioural scientist
*
Paul Moorcraft, Professor in Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at
Cardiff University
*
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 decade ...
, philosopher
*
Geoffrey Thomas, President of
Kellogg College, Oxford
* Dame
Jean Thomas, first female Master at
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
*
Colin H. Williams, sociolinguist
* Sir
Glanmor Williams
Sir Glanmor Williams (5 May 1920 – 24 February 2005) was one of Wales's most eminent historians.
Sir Glanmor was born in Dowlais, into a working-class family, and was educated at Cyfarthfa Grammar School in Merthyr Tydfil. He studied at ...
, 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, member of rock group
Manic Street Preachers
*
Stuart Forster
Stuart Forster is a British travel writer, professional photographer and blogger.
Life and work
In March 2015, Forster was named Journalist of the Year at the Holland Press Awards for his body of work on the Netherlands and Dutch culture publishe ...
, travel journalist and photographer
*
John Greening, poet, editor and critic
*
Jonathan Hill, presenter of ''
Wales Tonight'' on
ITV Wales
*
Jason Mohammad, 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, Welsh actor, ''Shameless'' and ''Svengali'' Internet series
*
Charlie Williams, author of ''The Mangel Trilogy''
*
Urien Wiliam
Urien Wiliam (7 November 1929 – 21 October 2006) was a Welsh language novelist and dramatist.
Wiliam was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, the son of Professor Stephen J. Williams, an academic at Swansea University. He became an expert in ...
, Welsh language novelist and playwright
*
Nicky Wire, member of rock group Manic Street Preachers
*
Jack Clothier
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
, founder of
Alcopop! Records
Business
*
Ron Jones, Director of
Tinopolis
*
Paul Pindar, Chief Executive of
Capita
*
Ratan Tata, 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
, image =
, caption =
, date_established =
, country = Wales
, address =
, leader_title = First Minister ()
, appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...
*
Mike Hedges, 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, MP for Eastleigh and Wales Office Minister
*
Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport and
Minister for Care
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
*
Nigel Evans, MP for Ribble Valley
*
Hywel Francis, 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
*
Sian James, former MP for Swansea East
*
Anne Main, former MP for St Albans
*
Rod Richards, former MP for North West Clwyd; former AM for North Wales
*
John Sewel, Baron Sewel, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
*
Mark Tami, MP for Alyn and Deeside
=International
=
*
Shekhar Dutt, Former governor of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh
*
Stanislaus A. James
Sir Stanislaus James (November 13, 1919 – May 26, 2011) was a Saint Lucian educator, administrator, and former governor-general.
Stanislaus Anthony James was born in Soufrière and educated at Saint Mary's College, Saint Lucia. He qualified ...
, Governor-General of Saint Lucia, 1988–1996
*
Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice President of
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 c ...
*
Wictor Sajeni, 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 northe ...
an government
Science, engineering and technology
* Sir
Jonathan Asbridge, former President of the
Nursing and Midwifery Council
*
Anne Borsay
Anne Borsay (20 October 1954 – 25 August 2014) was a medical historian. She was appointed as the first Chair of Medical Humanities at Swansea University in 2003, a position she held until her death in 2014. Her academic work explored the histor ...
Chair in Medical Humanities
*
Edward George Bowen CBE FRS, radiophysicist
*
Alan Cox (shared with
University of Wales, Aberystwyth),
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 i ...
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 ''T ...
, ornithologist and zoologist
*
Lyn Evans, 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 hundr ...
, CERN
*
Andy Hopper CBE FRS, co-founder of
Acorn Computers Ltd
*
Lionel Kelleway
Lionel Kelleway (born 1944) is a British radio presenter. For many years until 2009, he was the lead presenter of the BBC Radio 4 natural history documentary series, ''The Living World''.
Early life and education
Kelleway was born in Chiches ...
, 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 has ...
KBE
KBE may refer to:
* Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters
* Knowledge-based engineering
Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...
, technological entrepreneur
*
Colin Pillinger 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 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, physicist
Sports
*
Guillem Bauzà, 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, 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,
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, Welsh rugby union international
*
Simon Jones, Glamorgan and England cricketer
*
John McFall, Paralympic sprinter
*
Dwayne Peel, 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. Bor ...
, Welsh rugby union international
*
James Roberts James, Jamie, Jim, or Jimmy Roberts may refer to:
Entertainment and journalism
* James Roberts (printer) (1564–1606), English printer of Elizabethan literature
* James Roberts (painter) (1753-ca.1809), English portrait painter
* James C. Robert ...
, Paralympic rower and sitting volleyball
*
David Smith, boccia
*
Chris White, English international rugby referee
*
Marcus Wyatt,
World Cup skeleton racer
See also
*
Armorial of UK universities
*
Academic dress of the University of Wales
*
Education in Wales
*
GLIMPSE Project
GLIMPSE is a 5-year project to investigate the controls on thinning at the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. It is based in the Glaciology Group at the School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University. The project is headed by Profes ...
*
List of universities in Wales
*
List of UK universities
*
Singleton Abbey
*
Technium
References
External links
Swansea UniversitySwansea University Student Union (SUSU) websiteSwansea University Athletic Union (SUAU) website
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Swansea University
Universities in Wales
Swansea Bay
Organisations based in Swansea
Educational institutions established in 1920
1920 establishments in Wales
Universities UK