Cardiff University

Cardiff University
Prifysgol Caerdydd
CardiffUniversityCrest.png
Cardiff University Crest
Motto Welsh: Gwirionedd Undod A Chytgord
Motto in English Truth Unity and Harmony
Established 1883 (as the University College of South Wales & Monmouthshire)
Type Public
Endowment £25.58 million[1]
Chancellor Sir Martin Evans
President Professor Colin Riordan
Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Riordan
Admin. staff 5,230
Students 27,774[2]
Undergraduates 20,611[2]
Postgraduates 7,133[2]
Location Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
51°29′16″N 3°10′44″W / 51.4877°N 3.1790°W / 51.4877; -3.1790Coordinates: 51°29′16″N 3°10′44″W / 51.4877°N 3.1790°W / 51.4877; -3.1790
Campus Urban
Colours

Black and Red and Gold

                     
Affiliations Russell Group
EUA
Universities UK
Website cardiff.ac.uk
Cardiff university logo.png

Cardiff University (Welsh: Prifysgol Caerdydd) is a research university located in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. The University is composed of three colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; and Physical Sciences.

Founded in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, it is the second oldest university in Wales. It is a member of the Russell Group of leading British research universities.[3] The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based university education and is ranked 143 of the world's top universities by the QS World University Rankings, as well as achieving the highest student satisfaction rating in the 2013 National Student Survey for universities in Wales.[4]

The University has an undergraduate enrollment of 20,611 and a total enrollment of 27,774, making it one of the largest universities in Wales. The Cardiff University Students' Union works to promote the interests of the student body within the University and further afield. The University's sports teams compete in the BUCS league and the British Universities American Football League.

The University has produced a number of notable alumni including President of the European Commission Roy Jenkins, Prime Minister of Jordan Faisal al-Fayez and Nobel laureate Martin Evans.

History

Founding

Lord Aberdare was instrumental in the University's founding.

The Aberdare Report of 1881 recommended the foundation of university colleges in North Wales and South Wales to complement the already established University College, Wales (now the University of Wales, Aberystwyth), in Aberystwyth. There was considerable debate about whether the southern college should be located in Cardiff or Swansea. The case for Cardiff was strengthened by stressing the need to take account of the interests of Monmouthshire, at that time not legally considered part of Wales. This influenced the name of the new body. Following a public appeal that raised £37,000, the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire opened on 24 October 1883, offering studies in Biology, Chemistry, English, French, German, Greek, History, Latin, Mathematics & Astronomy, Music, Welsh, Logic & Philosophy and Physics. The University College was incorporated by Royal Charter the following year. John Viriamu Jones was appointed as the University’s first Principal, at age 27. The only college in Wales with its own degree awarding powers at this time was St David's University College. As such, Cardiff entered students for the examinations of the University of London[5] until, in 1893, it became one of the founding institutions of theUniversity of Wales and began awarding their degrees.

In 1885, Aberdare Hall opened as the first hall of residence, allowing women access to the university. This moved to its current site in 1895, but remains a single-sex hall. 1904 saw the appointment of the first female professor in the UK, Millicent McKenzie.

Architect W.D. Caroe sought to combine the charm and elegance of his former college (Trinity College, Cambridge) with the picturesque balance of many of the University of Oxford colleges. Building work on the Main Building commenced in 1905 and was completed in many stages, the first in 1909. Money ran short for this project, however, and although the side-wings were completed in the 1960s the planned Great Hall has never been built. Prior to then, from its founding in 1883, the university was based in the Old Infirmary on Newport Road, Cardiff which is now part of the university’s Queen’s Buildings.

The Queen's Buildings - The founding site of Cardiff University

Expansion

In 1931, the School of Medicine, which had been founded as part of the college in 1893 when the Departments of Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology were founded, was split off to form the University of Wales College of Medicine. In 1972, the college lost the name it had retained for ninety years and was renamed University College, Cardiff.[6]

In 1988, financial considerations led to the merger of University College, Cardiff with the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, UWIST, forming the University of Wales College, Cardiff. The Principal of the new institution was Sir Aubrey Trotman-Dickenson, who had been principal of UWIST. Following changes to the constitution of the University of Wales in 1996, this became the University of Wales, Cardiff.

In the early 1990s, the university's computer systems served as the home for The Internet Movie Database.[7] In 1997, the college was granted full independent degree awarding-powers by the Privy Council (though, as a member of the University of Wales it could not begin using them) and in 1999 the public name of the university was changed to Cardiff University.

Cardiff today

The main building of Cardiff University

In 2002, ideas were floated to re-merge Cardiff with the University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM) following the publication of the Welsh Assembly Government's review of higher education in Wales. This merger became effective on 1 August 2004, on which date Cardiff University ceased to be a constituent institution of the University of Wales and became an independent "link institution" affiliated to the federal University. The process of the merger was completed on 1 December 2004 when the Act of Parliament transferring UWCM's assets to Cardiff University received Royal Assent. On 17 December it was announced that the Privy Council had given approval to the new Supplemental Charter and had granted university status to Cardiff, legally changing the name of the institution to Cardiff University. Cardiff awarded University of Wales degrees to students admitted before 2005, but these have been replaced by Cardiff degrees. Medicine, dentistry and other health-related areas began to admit students for Cardiff degrees in 2006.

In 2004, Cardiff University and the Swansea University entered a partnership to provide a four-year graduate-entry medical degree. An annual intake of around 70 post-graduate students undertake an accelerated version of the Cardiff course at the Swansea University for the first two years before joining undergraduate students at Cardiff for the final two years. All medicine/surgery graduates are awarded the degrees MB BCh. However from September 2009 Swansea University will be independently providing medical education in a revised 4-yr Graduate Entry Degree.

A corridor in the Main Building

On 1 August 2004 the University of Wales, Cardiff merged with the University of Wales College of Medicine. The merged institution separated from the collegiate University of Wales and officially took the name Cardiff University.

In 2005, The Wales College of Medicine, which is part of the University, launched the North Wales Clinical School inWrexham in collaboration with the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in Wrexham and theUniversity of Wales, Bangor and with the National Health Service in Wales. This has been funded with £12.5 million from the Welsh Assembly[8] and will lead to the trebling of the number of trainee doctors in clinical training in Wales over a four-year period.

The university also has a popular Centre for Lifelong Learning which has been teaching a wide range of courses to the public for over 125 years.[9] In July 2009, the University announced it was ending the teaching of over 250 humanities courses at the centre making over 100 staff redundant. The University has since reintroduced a number of humanities courses for a trial period beginning in 2010.[10]

In June 2010, the University launched three new Research Institutes,[11] each of which offers a new approach to a major issue. They are the Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, the Sustainable Places Research Institute, and the Neurosciences & Mental Health Research Institute.

↑Jump back a section

Academics, administration and ranking

Rankings

Glamorgan Building
Rankings
ARWU[12]
(2012, national)		 15-19
ARWU[12]
(2012, world)		 151-200
QS[13]
(2012/13, national)		 21
QS[13]
(2012/13, world)		 143
THE[14]
(2012/13, national)		 31
THE[14]
(2012/13, world)		 201-225
Complete[15]
(2014, national)		 36
The Guardian[16]
(2013, national)		 40
The Sunday Times[17]
(2013, national)		 26
The Times[18]
(2013, national)		 35

Cardiff University continues the tradition of all three of its former institutions in providing high quality research-based education in Wales, as shown in its five-year standing as the best centre of excellence in Wales in the Sunday Times League Tables. Cardiff is also the only university in Wales to be a member of the Russell Group of Research Intensive Universities. Cardiff is by far the strongest research-focused university in Wales. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 33 out of the 34 research areas submitted by the University for assessment were shown to be undertaking research that includes world-leading work.

Cardiff has two Nobel Laureates on its staff, Professor Sir Martin Evans and Professor Robert Huber.[19] A number of Cardiff University staff have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, these include Graham Hutchings FRS, professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry[20] and Professor Ole Holger Petersen CBE FRS, MRC Professor and Director of Cardiff School of Biosciences.[21]

The University has also won four Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher & Further Education. The most recent award was won in 2009 by the University's Violence & Society Research Group.

Schools and colleges

The twenty seven academic schools of the University are divided into three colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; and Physical Sciences.

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

College of Biomedical and Life Sciences

  • Biosciences
  • Dentistry
  • Healthcare Studies
  • Medicine
  • Nursing and Midwifery Studies
  • Optometry and Vision Sciences
  • Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education
  • Psychology

College of Physical Sciences

  • Architecture
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Science & Informatics
  • Earth and Ocean Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Physics and Astronomy

Cardiff also has a new University Graduate College which brings together the work of four previous, discipline- based Graduate Schools and the postgraduate research activity of the University's Graduate Centre.

↑Jump back a section

Campus

Academic facilities

Bute Building

The University's academic facilities are centred around Cathays Park in central Cardiff,[22] which contains the University's main building, housing administrative facilities and the science library;[23] the Bute building, which contains the Welsh School of Architecture[24] and the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies;[25] the Glamorgan building, which houses the Cardiff School of Social Sciences,[26] and the Redwood Building, which houses the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.[27]

A number of the University's academic facilities are also located at the Heath Park campus which is based at the University Hospital of Wales, this contains the Cardiff University School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, the School of Dentistry, the School of Healthcare Studies and the School of Optometry & Vision Sciences.[22]

Athletic facilities

The majority of the University's sports facilities are located at the sports training village in the Talybont Halls complex. This includes facilties for football, badminton, basketball, tennis, hockey and gym facilties.[28] Additional gym facilities and squash courts are located at the university fitness and squash centre, near the city centre campus atCathays Park.[29] Extensive playing fields for Rugby, football and lacrosse are located at the University playing fields near Llanrumney.[30]

Student accommodation and student life facilities

Aberdare Hall

The University maintains fourteen student halls and a number of student houses throughout the city of Cardiff; providing a total of 5,362 student places in accommodation.[2] They are in a variety of architectural styles and ages, from the Gothic Aberdare Hall, built in 1895, to the modern Talybont Halls, built in 1995. All first year students are guaranteed a place in Halls.[31]

The Cardiff University Students' Union building is near Cathays Park, next to Cathays railway station. It has shops, a nightclub and the studios of Xpress Radio and Gair Rhydd, the student newspaper.

↑Jump back a section

Student life

Student groups

The Cardiff University Students' Union is a student-run organisation that aims to promote student interests both within the University and further afield. It is democratically controlled by the student body through the election of eight full time officers who manage the running of the Union.[32] The Union provides a range of services, including a number of cafes, bars and shops, as well as advice, training and representation. The Union provides facilities and support for several student media groups, including: Gair rhydd, the student newspaper,[33]Quench, an arts and lifestyle magazine covering a range of issues,[34]Xpress Radio, the student radio station,[35] and CUTV, the student television channel.[36] The Union also supports over 150 other clubs and societies across a wide range of interests,[37] including: Cardiff University Debating Society,[38] and Act One, the student dramatic society.[39] The Union is an affiliated member of the National Union of Students.[40]

Student Volunteering Cardiff is a registered charity run by Cardiff students that promotes and enables volunteering by the student body.[41]

Athletics

Cardiff University Boat Club competing in the 2006 Welsh Varsity on the river Taff

The Cardiff University Athletic Union is the body that supports student sport at Cardiff, it oversees more than 60 competitive and non-competitive sports clubs, many of which compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport league.[42] The university's American football team, the Cardiff Cobras, competes in the British Universities American Football League. The University's Ice Hockey team, the Cardiff Redhawks (which also recruits players from other Welsh universities) competes in the British Universities Ice Hockey Association leagues.[43]

The university's sports teams also take part in the annual Welsh Varsity against Swansea University, which includes the Welsh Boat Race, and several other sporting competitions.[44]

↑Jump back a section

Notable alumni and faculty

Heads of state and government

Politics

Graduation Ceremony at St David's Hall

Academia

Business

Sport

Arts and Journalism

↑Jump back a section

See also

↑Jump back a section

References

  1. ^ "Report and Financial Statements 2011/2012" (PDF). Cardiff University. Retrieved 23 March 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Student Numbers". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  3. ^ The Russell Group. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  4. ^ "Record levels of student satisfaction". Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  5. ^ "Student Lists". Senate House Library. Retrieved 2013-03-27. 
  6. ^ "Cardiff University", Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
  7. ^ "IMDb History". 
  8. ^ "Health Minister opens North Wales Clinical School". Welsh Assembly Government. Retrieved 4 July 2008. 
  9. ^ "New book celebrates 125 years of Lifelong Learning at Cardiff University=Cardiff University". Retrieved 16 May 2009. 
  10. ^ "Humanities Courses". 
  11. ^ "Cardiff creating three research institutes". WalesOnline. Retrieved 21 June 2010. 
  12. ^ a b "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2012". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 23 August 2012. 
  13. ^ a b "QS World University Rankings 2012/13". Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 19 September 2012. 
  14. ^ a b "Top European Universities 2012". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 4 December 2012. 
  15. ^ "University League Table 2014". The Complete University Guide. Retrieved 30 April 2013. 
  16. ^ "University guide 2013: University league table". The Guardian. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012. 
  17. ^ "The Sunday Times University Guide 2013". Times Newspapers. Retrieved 30 September 2012. (subscription required)
  18. ^ "The Times Good University Guide 2013". Times Newspapers. Retrieved 30 September 2012. (subscription required)
  19. ^ "School of Biosciences – Prof Robert Huber". Cardiff University. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
  20. ^ "Graham Hutchings FRS". Cardiff University. Retrieved 10 March 2011. 
  21. ^ "Professor Ole Holger Petersen FRS". Cardiff University. Retrieved 10 March 2011. 
  22. ^ a b "Heath Park". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  23. ^ "Science Library". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  24. ^ "Architecture school location". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  25. ^ "Journalism school location". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  26. ^ "Social Sci location". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  27. ^ "Pharm location". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  28. ^ "Sports training village". Retrieved 13 May 2013. 
  29. ^ "Fitness and squash". Retrieved 13 May 2013. 
  30. ^ "Playing fields". Retrieved 13 May 2013. 
  31. ^ "Residences". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  32. ^ "Union Officers". 
  33. ^ "gair rhydd paper". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  34. ^ "Quench magazine". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  35. ^ "Xpress radio". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  36. ^ "CUTV". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  37. ^ "Cardiff Societies". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  38. ^ "Debating society". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  39. ^ "Act one society". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  40. ^ "NUS member". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  41. ^ "Student Volunteering Cardiff". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  42. ^ "Athletic union". Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  43. ^ "Cardiff Redhawks". Retrieved 11 May 2013. 
  44. ^ "Welsh Varsity". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
  45. ^ "Former Permanent Representatives". United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  46. ^ "Robert Minhinnick". British Council. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  47. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
  48. ^ "Nobel laureate joins University". Cardiff University. Retrieved 4 July 2008. 
  49. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1988". The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 4 July 2008. 
  50. ^ "JWM's WEB SITE". Retrieved 10 September 2012. 
  51. ^ "Schlumberger CEO to retire, remains as chairman". Forbes. Retrieved 1 August 2011. [dead link]
  52. ^ "CNN International – Anchors & Reporters – Max Foster". CNN International. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
↑Jump back a section

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cardiff University
Further and
higher education
Cardiff University main building.jpg
Schools
Primary
Secondary
Independent
Other institutions
Universities and colleges in Wales
Universities
Further Education colleges
Sixth form colleges
↑Jump back a section
Last modified on 21 May 2013, at 00:13