Cardiff has established itself as the frontrunner in Welsh higher education and a leading player in the UK and beyond.

During 2007, the university celebrated a second Nobel laureate on its staff, as Professor Sir Martin Evans won the prize for medicine, and it broke into the top 100 in The Times Higher Education/QS world rankings.

A member of the Russell Group of 20 research-led universities, Cardiff had already left the University of Wales, believing that only full independence would enable it to compete with other top universities.

With more than 25,000 students and 5,500 staff, the university is a match for most rivals in teaching and research. A third of the students come from Wales, but the 3,000 from overseas testify to Cardiff ’s international reputation.

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Subjects

Seven subjects – city and regional planning, civil engineering, education, English, optometry, psychology and theology – were rated internationally outstanding in the latest research assessments. Almost nine out of ten researchers reached the top two of the seven categories, one of the best ratios in Britain.

Teaching quality is also highly rated: the 21 subjects graded as excellent represent more than half of the university. An overall audit by the Quality Assurance Agency complimented the university on its “powerful academic vision and well-developed and effectively articulated mission to achieve excellence in teaching and research”. Student support services, including counselling facilities and the help offered to dyslexics, were among the features singled out for praise.

Cardiff has done well in the first three National Student Surveys, only just missing a place in the top 20 in 2007. Philosophy, theology and religious studies, English, history and biology achieved the highest satisfaction levels. Many full-time degrees share a common first year, and the modular system of courses makes undergraduate study flexible thereafter. New courses include electronic and communication engineering and medical pharmacology.

Development

The university enjoys a central location in Wales’ capital, occupying a significant part of the civic complex around Cathays Park. In recent years, there has been major investment in new buildings and equipment, and extensive refurbishment. Recent projects include a £14-million student residence and almost £30 million invested in brain and body imaging facilities at the former University of Wales College of Medicine, which became part of the university with the backing of £60 million from the Welsh Assembly and other sources.

Library services are being transformed in order to boost access to resources and improve the environment for the study of rare collections. The School of Optometry and Vision Sciences moved into a £21-million building in 2007 and a new Medical School building will open in 2008, making room for more students. The school is a mile away from the main campus at Heath Park, where the five healthcare schools share a 53-acre site with the University Hospital of Wales.

A new IT working environment will give students online access to information about their studies and social life, including reading lists and timetables to social events and networking groups. Other recent developments include the establishment of the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, providing individual training for opera stars of the future, while the School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences has invested in its own research vessel for a programme of research and teaching voyages.

Accommodation

With more than 5,000 rooms, the university can accommodate all first years and a considerable number of returning students. Rents are among the lowest in the UK, according to a National Union of Students survey. Entry requirements have been rising, despite recent expansion, and the graduate employment record is good. Only eight universities had more applications than Cardiff at the start of 2008, although the 15 per cent decline with the switch from six choices per applicant to five was steeper than at most leading institutions.

The University has been bucking the national trend with increases in applications in science, technology, engineering and maths. One undergraduate in six comes from an independent school, but still almost a quarter have a working-class background. The projected dropout rate increased in the latest figures to almost 10 per cent, but is still close to the UK average for the university’s subjects and entry qualifications. The city of Cardiff is popular with students. The main residential site at Talybont boasts a “sports village”, and there is also a city-centre fitness suite and a sports ground available to students.

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