Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, Cardiff University has been producing successful graduates for the past 130 years. Ranked 5th in the UK for research quality and 2nd nationally for the impact of research (REF, 2014) and top 155 in the world (QS World Rankings 2020), many of the University’s academic schools are ranked amongst the strongest in the UK for the quality of their research and teaching, including Business, Engineering, English Language and Literature, Communication, Cultural and Media Studies and Sociology. Cardiff’s roll of honour includes:
- 2 Nobel Prize winners
- 12 Fellows of the Royal Society
- 12 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
- 7 Fellows of the British Academy
- 21 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences
- 32 Academicians of the Academy of Social Sciences
- 6 Queen’s Anniversary Prizes
Cardiff University is a member of the elite Russell Group top 24 UK research-led universities.
In recent years, substantial investment has been made in the University estate, including building of a science and innovation campus, and the development of a new Centre for Student Life at the very heart of campus.
The city
The city of Cardiff offers an excellent location for students to study in. Students benefit from the combination of a small, friendly, inexpensive city with the cultural and recreational amenities of an ambitious and progressive capital city. Students in Cardiff lead a busy life, both with their academic studies and the social activities that take place.
Cardiff is host to numerous large scale, high-profile events, and as the capital city of Wales, it is home to many of the UK’s national institutions including the National Museum of Wales and the commanding Millennium Stadium.
The waterfront area at Cardiff Bay is home to the Welsh Parliament and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. There are regular food, arts and craft festivals and visitors can walk across the barrage or take a boat trip around the bay.
You can also find stunning national parks and beautiful beaches just 30 minutes away from Cardiff, and with over 600 castles in Wales!
Cardiff is an extremely accessible city, benefitting from excellent road, rail and air communications. Using the national rail train service, London is reachable within two hours.
The University itself is spread across two campuses: Cathays Park and Heath Park. The majority of Cardiff University students are based at Cathays Park, as it is situated in the very centre of Cardiff.
Facilities
There are a wide range of facilities available to international students at Cardiff University.
Libraries
Students can use 16 libraries spread throughout both campuses, with 1.3 million books and journals including an expanding range of electronic versions.
Computing services
Students have over 20 computer rooms across both campuses and Wi-Fi access throughout its buildings and all residences.
Sports
The sports facilities are located on four sites across both campuses and include: a training village, a swimming pool, a squash centre, three gymnasiums, a 33-acre sports field, an exercise studio, six squash courts, three rugby pitches, ten football pitches, an indoor five-a-side pitch, four cricket squares, lacrosse and American football pitches, a hockey pitch, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and badminton courts.
Graduate Centre
Cardiff is proud to be among the few universities in the UK which have a facility exclusively for taught and research postgraduates. The Graduate Centre offers additional resources of space, study and social facilities, as well as workshops and events for students.
Student Union
Cardiff’s Students’ Union is the biggest and best equipped in Wales. The Students’ Union offers a variety of entertainment, diverse clubs and a range of welfare, advice and information services.
International Student Association
The International Student Association (ISA) gets more international students involved in the Union.
Student Media
Students can opt to write for the student newspapers at Cardiff such as GairRhydd, Student Lifestyle Magazine, Quench, or work for the students’ radio and TV stations - Xpress Radio and CUTV.
Venues
- The Great Hall – a 1,600-capacity concert venue.
- Y Plas – Student Union’s own high quality nightclub.
- The Taf – an old-fashioned pub.
- The Lounge – a non-alcoholic social space for international students, with Skype booths and touch-screen games.
Societies
Many cultural, political, religious, social and sporting interests are catered for with a number of societies specifically for international students. There are more than 200 societies.
Careers & Employability
95.7 percent of graduates enter employment, further study or both shortly after graduating (HESA Destination of Leavers in Higher Education survey 2016/17)
Accommodation
Most of the University’s student accommodation is within walking distance of lecture theatres, libraries and the Students’ Union. A place in one of the student accommodations is guaranteed to all first-year undergraduates. The majority are single en-suite bedrooms in self-catered flats. Students enjoy some of the lowest living costs compared with UK Universities.
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DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
The information on this page has been submitted by the higher education institution itself, and it varies how frequently they update it. If you want to know more, get in touch and one of our student advisors will answer all your questions!
Across the Pond is the official representative for this teaching institution for selected countries around the world which means we can help you apply to their courses and help with all the documents needed to submit an application. We can help answer questions about their courses and the institution itself as they do not necessarily have the capacity to deal with student enquiries from all around the world on a daily basis. This also means that they can ask us questions about your application and we can help explain if they are not familiar with your grades, academic background or the educational system in your home country. They also appreciate that students who apply through Across the Pond get the help they need, not only in terms of submitting the application and supporting documents, but also with everything needed before arrival in the UK, such as student accommodation, visa information, funding information and well as preparing for departure to the UK.
