About the University of South Wales

Founded by industry and the professions, the University of South Wales, with over 30,000 students is one of Britain’s most exciting new universities and a major player in higher education. One of the top ten campus universities in the UK by student number, and voted in the top 10 UK universities at the WhatUni Awards 2016, it attracts a cosmopolitan mix of students from over 120 countries and all backgrounds.

Within the United Kingdom, USW is unique in the breadth of its role, encompassing a modern university and two subsidiaries in Wales’ national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and The College Merthyr Tydfil. The University’s work has been recognised with UK-wide awards for its innovative support to students, and widening access to higher education through its pioneering UHOVI (Universities Heads of the Valleys Initiative) programme.

The University was formed in 2013 by the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. Both the institutions that have come together to create the University of South Wales have a rich and varied history, and can each trace their roots back more than 100 years.

USW offers a full range of qualifications from further education level to degrees and PhD study. As a major university it delivers the full range of STEM subjects, from engineering and mathematics to computing and surveying as well as being an experienced provider of teacher training courses.

The University is renowned for its partnerships with major employers, from British Airways to the National Health Service. Its relationship with employers as a leading university for careers is reflected in the high employment rate of its graduates, with 94% of students in employment or further study within six months of graduating.

Lecturers range from award-winning poets, authors and historians to computer scientists, engineers, and journalists. Many of them are still active in their professions, so they bring a real understanding of the world of work into the classroom.

Students learn how their profession works in real life, exploring their field through courses taught in unique hands-on environments including their own airliner, moot courtroom, TV studios, stock exchange trading room, simulated hospital ward, and scene of crime house. Sports students train and play on facilities used and endorsed by world champions such as the All Blacks.

USW is a major player in the arts, with an internationally acclaimed film school, industry-standard animation facilities, broadcasting studios, one of the UK’s oldest photography schools, a strong reputation for theatre design, award-winning poets, scriptwriters and authors, and the national music and drama conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, within its group.

The University is a powerhouse in applied research used to shape major decisions. As a major public policy think-tank, it offers independent advice to government, industry and employers across the UK on health, education, economic growth, social policy, and governance. It provides a partnership platform for ideas and debate with major think tanks such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and NESTA.

USW is a leader in key areas of specialist research, such as sustainable energy, educational development, health, creative industries and the arts, mobile communications, humanities, sports injury and performance, new business incubation, and innovation for technology and start-up companies.

For more information on the University, please visit www.southwales.ac.uk

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