In the whole of England and Wales, only Oxford and Cambridge were awarding degrees before Lampeter.

Yet only Buckingham University is smaller today.

In fact, Lampeter claims to be the smallest publicly-funded university in Europe, making a virtue of its size by putting the emphasis on its friendly atmosphere and intimate teaching style.

There has been pressure from the Welsh Assembly for closer collaboration between the Principality’s small higher education institutions, but there is no prospect of a merger.

Satisfaction

Applications were down by almost 15 per cent, to barely 800, at the start of 2007, but those who go are enthusiastic about Lampeter. It was among the leading institutions in the first two national student satisfaction surveys, with English particularly popular in 2006.

Based around an ancient castle and modelled on an Oxbridge college, St David’s College (as it was originally known) was established to train young men for the Anglican ministry.

That title receded into the small print, as the University of Wales allowed its member institutions to drop their college titles. But the original quadrangle remains and the chapel is in daily use. There have been significant changes in the past few years — notably a big expansion in distance learning and the introduction of such subjects as anthropology, IT, management, and film and media studies.

New subjects

There are now 300 course combinations available in the joint honours programme. Medieval studies is an unusual construct, while Chinese studies, creative writing and media production are among the new arrivals. A degree in Voluntary Sector Studies, which won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, is offered part-time and by distance learning so that students can combine study with volunteering and personal commitments. However, there is no immediate aim to go beyond 2,000 students, itself almost double the numbers taken a decade ago.

Lampeter remains arts-dominated: even IT leads to a BA, and the Bachelor of Divinity is the only other undergraduate degree. Lampeter is best known for theology, one of the two top-rated research departments, the other being English.

The small campus includes a mosque for the growing number of Muslim students attracted by a well-endowed programme of Islamic studies. But students are opting increasingly for broad courses such as medieval studies, which includes archaeology, classics and theology, as well as history, English and Welsh.

Media studies, which benefits from a well-equipped media centre for film and television students, is also growing in popularity. A new research centre is being built to house the Founders’ Library collections and the historical archives, bringing the university’s library resources together on one site for the first time since 1966. Climatically-controlled conditions will ensure the long-term conservation of a collection of pre-1800 books and manuscripts that includes a Bible dating from 1279.

Modular courses have been introduced, but degrees are still divided into two parts, with the first year designed to ensure breadth of study. Most courses now include the option of a January start. Undergraduates are encouraged to try a new language, such as Arabic, Greek or Welsh.

Part two normally takes a further two years, although philosophy takes three. Lampeter is deep in Welsh-speaking rural West Wales, and both the university and the students’ union have strong bilingual policies. The university is also taking Welsh to a wider audience, with the only university course teaching the language over the internet.

Transport

Although only four hours from London and two from Cardiff, Lampeter’s geographical position could be a problem for the unprepared. The town has only 4,000 inhabitants and one of the lowest crime rates in Britain, but the nearest station is more than 20 miles away at Carmarthen.

A high proportion of the students run cars. The students’ union is the centre of social life — not surprising when the university’s guide to the town lists its attractions as “cafés, pubs, a curry house and a French patisserie”. Most students have made a deliberate choice to avoid the bright lights and many would like to remain in the area after graduation, although jobs are scarce.

The location helps to produce a relatively high proportion of students from areas with little tradition of higher education and almost 30 per cent are from working-class homes. The college’s size can make for big fluctuations in the various published indicators. The projected dropout rate, for example, had dipped below 10 per cent in the official statistics earlier in the decade, but have hovered around 20 per cent recently.

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