The main building of Cardiff University
'Cardiff University' (
Welsh: ''Prifysgol Caerdydd'') is a leading university located in the
Cathays Park area of
Cardiff,
Wales. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the
Russell Group of Universities. It has an annual turnover of £315 million. The university was shortlisted for the
Sunday Times University of the Year award in
2003. Before August 2004, the university was officially known as 'University of Wales, Cardiff' (
Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru, Caerdydd''), although it used the name ''Cardiff University'' publicly. The student population is diverse with 17% of students from outside of the United Kingdom and 85% of students from state schools.
History
The
Aberdare Report of
1881 recommended the foundation of university colleges in north and south Wales to complement the already established University College, Wales (now the
University of Wales, Aberystwyth) in
Aberystwyth. Following a public appeal that raised £37,000, the 'University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire' opened on
October 24 1883 and was incorporated by
Royal Charter the following year. 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 until, in
1893, it became one of the founding institutions of the
University 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.
'Main Building'
Architect John Caroe sought to combine the charm and elegance of his former college (Trinity, Cambridge) with the picturesque balance of many of the Oxford colleges. Building work 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 which is now part of the University’s Queen’s Buildings.
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 was renamed 'University College, Cardiff'.
In
1988, financial problems caused University College, Cardiff and the
University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology to merge, forming the 'University of Wales College, Cardiff'. 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.
[1] 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. Some considered this part of an effort at Cardiff to set itself apart from the other colleges of the University of Wales, none of which are members of the
Russell Group.
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.
Cardiff Today
In
2002, ideas were floated to re-merge Cardiff with the University of Wales College of Medicine following the publication of the
Welsh Assembly Government's review of higher education in Wales. This merger became effective on
August 1,
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
December 1,
2004 when the
Act of Parliament transferring UWCM's assets to Cardiff University received Royal Assent. On
December 17 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 currently still awards University of Wales degrees but for students admitted from
2005 these are planned to be replaced by Cardiff degrees except for medicine, dentistry and other health-related areas, which will begin to admit students for Cardiff degrees from
2006.
In 2004, Cardiff University and the
University of Wales, Swansea 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 University of Wales, Swansea 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.
In
2005, The Wales College of Medicine, which is part of the University, launched the North Wales Clinical School in
Wrexham in collaboration with the
North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in Wrexham and the
University of Wales, Bangor and with the
National Health Service in Wales. This has been funded with £12.5 Million from the
Welsh Assembly and will lead to the tripling of the number of trainee doctors in clinical training in Wales over a four year period.
In early 2007, the University created controversy when it emerged that it had invested large sums of money in the arms manufacturer BAE Systems.
The University is currently exploring closer links with the
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama which is also based in
Cardiff. It has been rumoured that this could lead to an eventual merger, as this is very similar to the wording used prior to the merger with UWCM.
The university has a rivalry with nearby
Swansea University, against whom every year they have a
varsity match.
Reputation
Cardiff University - the main building (as seen from Cathays Park in spring time)
Cardiff University has a long standing tradition of providing the best 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 (along with
Swansea University) is the only university in Wales to have a department (town and county planning) rated as a 'Gold Standard' (One that achieved 5
★ rating in both the RAE in 2001 and 1996).
Academic Ranking of the Worlds Universities
★ 2006 - placed 151-200 globally and 57-78 in Europe
★ 2005 - placed 153-202 globally and 60-79 in Europe
★ 2004 - placed 153-201 globally and 60-79 in Europe
★ 2003 - placed 201-250 globally and 77-99 in Europe
Sunday Times 2007 Good University Guide
★ Ranked 16th overall in the institution-wide league table
[2]
★ Ranked 26th in a peer review survey (21 places above its nearest Welsh rival)
[3]
★ Ranked 23rd in a survey of Head Teachers and peer review (19 places above its nearest Welsh rival)
[4]
★ Ranked 38th in a student satisfaction survey (31 places below the top Welsh university)
[5]
★ Placed 29th in the survey of Head teachers (4 places above its nearest Welsh rival)
[6]
Schools and Colleges
The 28 academic schools and four graduate schools are grouped into two colleges, with each college having a
provost: the Wales College of Medicine, Biology, Life and Health Sciences and the College of Humanities and Sciences.
The academic schools are:
Research Centres
★
Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC)- The MEC is an autonomous research centre within Cardiff University, having the same status as the University's academic Schools.
Facilities
There are sporting facilities and sports teams in the
BUSA university league, including men's and women's hockey.
The
Cardiff University Students' Union building is over the main railway going north from Cardiff to the
Valleys, next door to
Cathays railway station. It has shops, a nightclub and the studios of
Xpress Radio (which is piped throughout the union) and
gair rhydd (
Welsh: 'Free Word'), the student newspaper.
Alumni
Alumni of Cardiff University (and its predecessor) include:
★
Robin Attfield
★
Adrian Chiles
★
Huw Edwards
★
Brian J. Ford
★
Alun Hoddinott
★
Karl Jenkins
★
Alan Johnston
★
Riz Khan
★
Glenys Kinnock
★
Neil Kinnock
★
Siân Lloyd
★
Hilary Marquand
★
Tawanda Pari (LexisNexus)
★
Bill Rammell
★
James Righton (Klaxons)
★
Barham Salih
★
Craig Thomas
★
Keith Ward
★
Brian Wilson
★
Grace Williams
References
1. Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06
2. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,102571,00.html
3. http://www.times-archive.co.uk/onlinespecials//peerassessment.pdf
4. http://www.times-archive.co.uk/onlinespecials//teacherassessment.pdf
5. http://www.times-archive.co.uk/onlinespecials//satisfaction.pdf
6. http://www.times-archive.co.uk/onlinespecials//headteachersurvey.pdf
Partnerships
Cardiff University is a member of the Consortium of Academic Stewards for
The Scholar Ship.
External links
★
Cardiff University
★
Cardiff University Students' Union
★
Cardiff University and Wales NHS Trust Libraries
★
Cardiff University's Association of Past Students
★
Unofficial Guides - Cardiff University
★
Accommodation Reviews for Cardiff University
★
Gair Rhydd - student newspaper
★
Quench - student magazine
★
Xpress Radio
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