Glamorgan attracted by far the biggest rise in applications, at some 18 per cent, of any university in Wales at the start of 2009.

The opening of a striking new £35-million campus in the centre of Cardiff in 2007 has made all the difference, increasing the demand for courses based there by more than 60 per cent.

The university’s Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries offers an “eclectic mix of teaching and research in the theory and practice of media, design and the arts”.

Students work in an ultra-modern new building, known as the ATRiuM, and have access to 1,350 rooms in privately run halls of residence.

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Merger

The new development followed a merger with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, with its conservatoire courses. However, most of Glamorgan’s 21,000 students will remain on the Treforest campus, 20 minutes by train from Cardiff, overlooking the market town of Pontypridd.

Others take Glamorgan courses in five overseas centres or in a growing number of further education colleges across Wales. Four have become accredited colleges, guaranteeing places on degree courses if students meet set conditions, while Merthyr Tydfil College has become the university’s Faculty of Further Education.

The university produced good results in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, albeit from a low entry in most subjects. Almost a third of the work submitted was judged to be ‘world-leading’ or internationally excellent, with English and nursing and midwifery doing especially well.

Modern

Originally based in a large country house, Glamorgan now has a large, modern campus. The Law School moved to new premises on the main campus in 2008 with upgraded facilities including a moot courtroom, while accommodation for mathematics and computing has had a £5-million refurbishment.

The Faculty of Health Sport and Science are on the Glyntaff site, a short walk from the main campus. They are housed in new buildings and restored tramsheds, a reminder of the industrial past of the area. The popular Institute of Chiropractic is one of only two university-based centre for training chiropractors in the UK.

The business school is the largest in Wales, and the university was among the first providers of the Foundation degree. The range of two-year courses has since expanded rapidly, covering subjects as diverse as football and rugby coaching, surveying and costume construction.

The vocational approach pays dividends for graduate employment, which is consistently good, although the projected dropout rate is easily the highest in Wales and among the worst in the UK, at 29 per cent. The intake is more socially diverse than elsewhere in the Principality. Over 40 per cent of undergraduates come from working-class homes and 15 per cent are from areas with no tradition of higher education.

Glamorgan did well in the early rounds of the National Student Survey, but scores have dipped in the last two years. Business students were the only ones to register more than 90 per cent satisfaction, while fewer than half of those on some technology courses declared themselves satisfied overall.

However, the Faculty of Advanced Technology has been designated a centre of excellence for Wales, while three National Partnership awards testify to high standards in course design and delivery. Degrees in computer forensics, computer games development, lighting and design technology and aerospace courses are all designed with employers’ needs in mind.

Students

Many of the 9,000 full-time undergraduates live around Pontypridd, while others choose Cardiff, which is both livelier and a better source of accommodation. However, the Pontypridd campus has been developing, with an extension to the students’ union, which is the focus of social life. There is also a modern a recreation centre.

The sports facilities are good enough for Glamorgan to have been awarded the 2001 British University Games and to become one of six centres of excellence in cricket. The university’s playing fields have been used for training purposes by leading football and rugby teams. Glamorgan is successful in student competitions, especially in rugby, and offers a number of sports bursaries for students with international potential. But there is also a wide range of health and fitness classes for those with lower aspirations.

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