Swansea University | Rankings and courses

Swansea University welcomes students from all over the world

Since 1920, Swansea University has been making a difference through research. The University community thrives on exploration and discovery, providing an ideal blend of excellent teaching and research and an enviable quality of life.

The university has beautiful waterfront campuses that attract students from all over the world. Its multicultural community provides a global perspective, allowing those who join Swansea to develop skills and knowledge that will set them up for successful and enriching careers.

History

Established in 1920, Swansea University College (the university’s name at the time) opened its doors on October 5, the same year. It was the youngest of the University of Wales’ four colleges. It was founded on the recommendations of a Royal Commission appointed in 1916.

The college was founded on what were perceived to be the needs and desires of the local community, particularly Swansea’s main industries. The Park Campus is home to the university’s oldest buildings. One of them is Singleton Abbey, a large eighteenth-century mansion that was the ancestral home of the Vivian family. Prominent industrialist John Henry Vivian later purchased it.

King George V laid the foundation stone for Swansea University in July 1920, welcoming 89 students, eight of whom were female. Swansea had courses in Science, mathematics, metallurgy, and engineering from the start of college. 

The College of Heralds granted the university a coat of arms in 1921, with the motto ‘Gweddw Crefft Heb Ei Dawn,’ which translates as ‘technical skill is devoid of culture.’

Swansea taught art subjects after 1920, but in the ‘session’ that followed in 1921-22.

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 were the first professors in those departments. Williams was the first woman in the United Kingdom to receive the appointment to a chair. Senior men at the college, one of whom she would later marry, had a negative reaction.

Saunders Lewis, a well-known Welsh language writer and activist, joined the staff in 1922.

When the college got Singleton Abbey and its surrounding land in 1923, the university relocated the arts subjects from its temporary location in Mount Pleasant. Until the Second World War, student numbers remained relatively low. Swansea added departments of philosophy in 1925, German in 1931, economics in 1937, social policy in 1947, and political theory and government in 1954, the same year it added civil engineering and geography. Swansea became a center for Russian and East European studies in 1961, while Italian and Spanish joined the French Department.

There were many notable faculty members at the time, including Florence Mockeridge, a long-serving female professor of botany. Glanmor Williams (history), who retired in 1982, was another.

Other popular staff members included Kingsley Amis, author of novels such as Lucky Jim and That Uncertain Feeling, who lectured in English in the 1950s and early 1960s. Rush Rhees, an expert on Wittgensteinian philosophy who worked from 1940 to 1966, and Kenneth O. Morgan (now Lord Morgan of Aberdyfi), a junior history lecturer from 1958 to 1966.

Campus

Swansea University operated solely from the Singleton Park Campus for its history. However, due to rapid growth, the university built a 65-acre, £450 million beachfront science and innovation Bay Campus in September 2015. Swansea University has operated as a dual-campus university since then, with the ‘Park Campus’ at Singleton Park and the Bay Campus at Crymlyn Burrows.

Located in one of the safest areas of the UK, this world-class university is less than five minutes from Swansea Bay. Swansea is a Welsh coastal city less than an hour from Cardiff and three hours from London. The Bay campus is at Crymlyn Burrows on a 65-acre beachfront site between Fabian Way and Jersey Marine Beach. It houses much of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the School of Management, as well as a Great Hall seating 800, a library with views of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, student housing, and several research facilities.

Swansea University has some of the most affordable student housing in the UK, with one and two-bed flats, wheelchair-accessible rooms, en-suites, and twin rooms available.

Swansea University provides world-class sports facilities for all aspiring athletes, including 50m and 25m indoor swimming pools, a university gym, fitness studios, squash and tennis courts, and playing fields.

Students benefit from a learning environment that combines teaching, research, and industry connections. Many of its undergraduate programs include a year in industry, and its Swansea Employability Academy provides students with career guidance, events, and skill development.

Courses

Swansea University offers foundation and undergraduate degrees and teaches and provides research facilities for postgraduate programs in hundreds of subjects ranging from accounting to zoology. The University offers a variety of international scholarships, including the Excellence Scholarship, which recognizes academic excellence.

Swansea University has a global presence, with staff, students, partnerships, and research collaborations worldwide. The University has approximately 20% international students, with 130 nationalities making the campus friendly, vibrant, and diverse.

Swansea University offers a variety of undergraduate degrees in various fields, including

• Engineering
• Business Management
• Accounting and Finance
• Media, Communication, and Public Relations
• English Language and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Computer Science
• Law and Criminology
• Undergraduate Pathways

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 

• Accounting and Finance with a Foundation Year, BSc (Hons)
• Accounting and Finance, BSc (Hons)
• Accounting with a Foundation Year, BSc (Hons)
• Accounting, BSc (Hons)
• American Studies and History, BA (Hons)
• American Studies and Politics, BA (Hons)

Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science 

• Adult Nursing (Carmarthen Campus), BSc (Hons)
• Adult Nursing (Swansea), BSc (Hons)
• Applied Medical Sciences with a Foundation Year, BSc (Hons)
• Applied Medical Sciences, BSc (Hons)
• Community Health Studies Specialist Practice Award in District Nursing – Full-time, BSc / Graduate Diploma
• Enhanced Paramedic Practice, BSc (Hons)

Faculty of Science and Engineering

• Actuarial Science with a Foundation Year, BSc (Hons)
• Actuarial Science, BSc (Hons)
• Aerospace Engineering with a Foundation Year, BEng (Hons)
• Aerospace Engineering, BEng (Hons)
• Aerospace Engineering, MEng (Hons)
• Applied Mathematics, BSc (Hons)

Rankings

Swansea University is one of the best public universities in the UK. It ranks 425th in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

• QS WUR Ranking by Subject- 326

• Graduate Employability Ranking- 301-500

Alumni

The university has distinguished alumni who are leaders in their fields.

Notable alumni

• Annabelle Apsion (Film Actress)
• Geoffrey Thomas (President of Kellogg College, Oxford)
• Jonathan Hill (Presenter of Wales Tonight on ITV Wales)
• Jason Mohammad (Television/Radio Presenter at BBC Wales)
• Chris White (English International Rugby Referee)
• Graham Ryder (Geologist, Lunar Scientist, and Recipient of the Barringer Medal in 2003) 
• Evan James Williams (Physicist)

Key takeaways

• Swansea University welcomes students from all over the world and is a friendly university that cares about them. The university provides a vibrant social scene, with an active students’ union and 170 clubs and societies.
• Based in one of the safest areas of the UK, Swansea is a world-class university less than five minutes from Swansea Bay. Swansea is a Welsh coastal city that lies less than an hour from Cardiff and three hours from London.
• Swansea provides a foundation and undergraduate degrees as well as offers research facilities for postgraduate programs in hundreds of subjects ranging from accounting to zoology. 

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FAQs

Q1. Do they speak English in Swansea?

Ans- Many people in Swansea speak English and Welsh at home, with friends, and at work. One in every six residents speaks Welsh, and many people speak it as their first language, and there is a growing interest in the language.

Q2. Are courses at Swansea University expensive?

Ans- Tuition fees in 2022/23 will be £9000 per year, but it may increase by an inflationary amount determined by the Welsh Government in subsequent years of study. If you are pursuing your first degree, you will not be required to pay tuition fees upfront; instead, you will be eligible for a £9,000 repayable tuition fee loan.

Q3. Is Swansea good for a Psychology course?

Ans- The School of Psychology at Swansea University has an excellent reputation in the UK and internationally.