Swansea University

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Swansea University
Prifysgol Abertawe
Motto: Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn
("Technical skill is bereft without culture")
Established 1920
Type: Public
Chancellor: Professor Sir David Williams
Vice-Chancellor: Professor Richard B. Davies
Staff: 2,500
Students: 15,070[1]
Undergraduates: 11,355[1]
Postgraduates: 2,470[1]
Other students: 1,245 FE[1]
Location: Swansea, UK
Campus: Urban
Colours: Green & White
Affiliations: University of Wales, EUA, ACU
Website: http://www.swan.ac.uk/
Not to be confused with Swansea Metropolitan University.

Swansea University (Welsh: Prifysgol Abertawe) is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was founded as University College, Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales, following the report of the Haldane Commission into University Education in Wales. It later changed its name to the University of Wales, Swansea following structural changes within the University of Wales. The new title of Swansea University was formally adopted on 1 September 2007 when the University of Wales became a non-membership confederal institution and the former members became universities in their own right.[2]

It is the third largest university in Wales in terms of number of students[3]. The university campus is located next to the coast at the north of Swansea Bay, east of the Gower Peninsula, in the grounds of Singleton Park, just outside Swansea city centre. Swansea was granted its own degree-awarding powers in 2005 in preparation for possible changes within the University of Wales.[4]

Swansea maintains a strong rivalry against Cardiff University, whose sports teams compete in an annual varsity match, known as the Welsh version of the Oxbridge event.

Contents

[edit] Governance and structure

Swansea received its royal charter in 1920 and like many universities is governed by its constitution that is set out in its statutes and charter. The governing body of Swansea University is its Council, which, in turn, is supported by the Senate and the Court.

  • The Council consists of 29 members including the Chancellor, Pro-chancellors, Vice-chancellor, Treasurer, Pro-vice-chancellors, staff and student members, city council representation and a majority of lay members. The council is responsible for all of the University's activities and has a well-developed committee structure to help discharge its powers and duties.
  • The Senate consists of 200 members, the majority of whom are academics but includes also representatives from both the Students' Union and the Athletic Union. The senate is chaired by the Vice-chancellor, who is the head of the university both academically and administratively. The senate is the main academic body of the university and is responsible for teaching and research.
  • The Court consists of over 300 members, who represent the stakeholders in the university and stretch from local to national institutions. The court meets annually to discuss the university's annual report and its financial statements, as well as to discuss current issues in higher education

[edit] Academic structure

Swansea University's academic departments are organised into 10 schools:

  • The School of Arts: Applied Linguistics, Cymraeg/Welsh, English, French, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian, Media and Communication Studies, Russian, Translation
  • The School of Business and Economics: Business and Economic departments
  • The School of Environment and Society: Biological Sciences, Geography, Centre for Development Studies, Sociology and Anthropology
  • The School of Health Science: Adult Studies, Biomedical Studies, Child Health Studies, Clinical Studies, Critical and Emergency Care, E Health Learning, Health Economics and Policy Studies, Midwifery and Gender Studies, Mental Health Studies, Philosophy Humanities and Law in Healthcare, Primary Healthcare, Public Health and Older People
  • The School of Engineering: Aerospace, Chemical and Biological, Civil, Electrical and Electronic, Information, Communication & Computing Technology, Materials, Mechanical, Medical, Nanotechnology, Product Design
  • The School of Humanities: American Studies; Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology; History; Politics and International Relations Departments (Inc. Callaghan Centre for the study of Conflict)
  • The School of Human Science: Psychology, Applied Social Studies, Childhood Studies, Sports Science
  • The School of Medicine: Graduate Entry Medicine, Centre for Health Information, Research & Evaluation, Institute of Life Science, BioMedical Research, Genetics Group
  • The School of Law: International Maritime, Trade and Commercial Law, Business & Law. Legal Practice Course, Graduate Diploma in Law, IISTL, CEELP, LLB
  • The School of Physical Sciences: Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics departments

[edit] Research Institutes and Centres

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Institute of Life Sciences[5]
Institute of Advanced Telecommunications[6]
Richard Burton Centre for Film & Popular Culture[7]
The Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research[8]
The Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales[9]
Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre[10]
Institute of Health Research[11]
Welsh Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience[12]
Callaghan Centre for the Study of Conflict[13]
The Centre for Child Research[14]
Centre for Commercial Law Studies[15]
Centre for Complex Fluids Processing[16]
Centre for Contemporary German Literature[17]
Centre for Criminal Justice and Criminology[18]
Centre for Development Studies[19]
Centre for Egyptology and Mediterranean Archaeology[20]
Centre for Environmental and Energy Law and Policy[21]
Centre for Health Information, Research & Evaluation[22]
Centre for Migration Policy Research[23]
Centre for Research into Iberian Stage and Screen[24]
Centre for Social Carework Research[25]
Centre for the Study of Culture and Politics[26]
Centre for the History of Wales and its Borderlands[27]
Centre for Urban Theory[28]
Chernobyl Tissue Bank[29]
Civil and Computational Engineering Centre[30]
Climate and Land-Surface Systems Interaction Centre[31]
Electronics Systems Design Centre[32]
Institute of Mass Spectrometry[33]
The Centre for Research in Ancient Narrative Literature[34]
Welsh Centre for Research into Lifelong Learning[35]
Materials Research Centre[36]
National Centre for Public Policy[37]
Performance Engineering Training Consortium[38]
Product Lifecycle Management[39]
Centre for Translation Research and Multilingualism[40]
Vocabulary Acquisition Research Group[41]
Wales International Centre for Childhood Studies[42]
Welsh Economy Labour Market Evaluation and Research Centre[43]
Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating[44]
Wittgensteinian Studies[45]
Centre for Research into Gender in Culture and Society[46]
Glaciology Group[47] Institute of Advanced Telecommunications[48]
Institute of Environmental Sustainability[49]
Institute of Health Research[50]
Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law[51]

[edit] Student accommodation

Swansea University provides approximately 3000 places in University halls and can normally offer accommodation to over 98% of new Undergraduate students who require it. Accommodation is also available for all International Postgraduate students.

Swansea University maintains on-campus and off-campus halls of residence and the purpose built Hendrefoelan Student Village. Several new halls of residence were completed in 2004 and in 2008.

There are also a number of University Managed Properties in the Uplands and Brynmill areas of the city. These are houses and flats located in popular student areas and house between 2 and 8 students.

Hendrefoelan Student Village

Hendrefoelan Student Village is the University’s largest residence site where 1644 students live in self-catering accommodation. The Hendrefoelan estate is 2½ miles from the campus, just off the main Swansea to Gower road, set amongst mature woodland with open grassy areas.

Campus Halls

There are nine halls that make up the campus residences providing accommodation to around 1226 students. The halls offer a combination of part and self-catered rooms and a choice of standard or ensuite study rooms. Three of these halls (Caswell, Langland and Oxwich) were completed in 2004 and the original halls (Kilvey, Preseli, Rhossili and Cefn Bryn) have undergone some refurbishment in recent years. Penmaen and Horton are the newest addition to the campus residences providing 351 self-catered, ensuite study rooms. Many rooms have spectacular views over the bay or across the park.

Ty Beck/ Beck House

Six large Victorian town houses situated in the Uplands area of Swansea, approximately a mile from the Singleton campus. Predominantly provide rooms for Postgraduates and students with families, as well as overseas exchange students.

[edit] Recent developments

The University has restructured in recent years, expanding popular areas such as History, English, Geography and Computer Science, but closing the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and the Department of Philosophy.[citation needed] The Department of Chemistry has also ceased to take undergraduate students, although it continues to carry out research and post-graduate teaching. The stated aim of the closure of these core academic departments was to divert funds into a new Management School designed to recruit lucrative students from the Far East. In the campaign by staff and students against the closures, the Students Union advertised the university on eBay with a starting price of 1p. A new course Aerospace Engineering has been introduced of which the first intake will pass out this year(2007). Another recent development is the partnership with Cardiff University to provide a four-year graduate-entry medical degree (MB BCh)in Swansea.

The Western Britain chapter of the International Conference for the Study of Political Thought was moved to the Department of Politics & International Relations from Exeter University earlier in 2006.[citation needed]

[edit] Boots Centre for Innovation

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Boots Centre for Innovation was created in April 2007 as a non profit making partnership between Boots the Chemist, Longbow Capital, Swansea University and the Welsh Assembly Government. The Centre was created to work closely with early stage companies or lone inventors to develop innovative new products and technologies within the health and beauty sectors.

The principle aim of the Centre is to mentor and support these innovators through each stage of product development and eventually launch exciting new consumer products for the shelves of Boots stores. The Boots Centre for Innovation welcomes entrepreneurs from around the world to present their health & beauty concepts for consideration. At its base in Swansea University, Boots Centre for Innovation provides:

  • Business knowledge including: product development expertise, marketing skills and general business management.
  • Access to a wealth of scientific expertise
  • Funding
  • A gate way to 2,400 Boots the Chemist stores in the UK and access to an international distribution and retail network. [2]

[edit] Campus plan

Fulton House, Swansea University.
Fulton House, Swansea University.

Accelerating growth in research activities is putting pressure on facilities and requires the University to provide additional workspace and an improved infrastructure.[citation needed]

The University recently commissioned a team of consultants, Actium Consult, to research options for a ten-year “Estates Strategy”, taking into account the pressures created by its growth and sustained increases in student numbers. The brief was to research and evaluate all options available to the University. The key finding in the report demonstrates that the University will require a significant amount of additional space in order to provide the facilities necessary to meet future demand. Actium Consult proposed three different options to address this need for space.

  1. Demolish Fulton House and Union House and redevelop the site
  2. Refurbish Fulton House and redevelop the site between Singleton Hospital and the halls of residence
  3. Consider an alternative location (two sites are evaluated in the report).

The consultant’s recommendation is to redevelop central areas of Singleton Campus, although this does raise a number of other issues. The University also needs to consider future provision for student accommodation. Currently, all the options are being considered and the University is consulting with staff, as well as other stakeholders in the local community, to identify the best course of action.

The University have indicated that their preferred option would be to have Fulton House, the main building on campus, delisted and to demolish the building. The independent advisors who examined the University and recommended the plans have stated that the University would require Fulton House to be de-listed by June 2007 in order for the plan to be feasible.[citation needed]

In written evidence presented to the Welsh Assembly's Enterprise and Learning Committee in January 2008, the university stated that it was "at an advanced stage of discussion" about a new 'Innovation Campus' on a second site. The new campus could be home to Engineering, Computing, Telecommunications, the Business and Law Schools and a range of "research/test facilities" for large and small companies.[52]

[edit] University rankings

The Times university Top 100 league table recently listed the University as the 43rd best university in the UK (out of a total of 109), up from 50th position in 2004 but down from 42nd in 2005. In addition, the University picked up the 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement Award for the UK's "best student experience".[53][54] However, the survey was criticised by some, as it was carried out by the Student Panel. Detractors claimed that the sample was self-selected and therefore unscientific. The University is also listed as one of the top 500 universities in the World at 401 to 500 in the 2006 Shanghai Jiao Tong University World Rankings.[55] The Guardian league tables also placed the university at 42nd in its institution wide table.[56]

[edit] Library

Library & Information Services at Swansea provides a combined library, IT and Careers service. The main Library & Information Centre on the Singleton campus has over 800,000 books and periodicals, along with a wide range of electronic resources including over 23,000 electronic journals. There are over 1,000 study spaces, almost half of which are equipped with networked PCs. LIS was awarded the Charter Mark in 2006.

The Library & Information Centre also has major archive collections, based on the South Wales Coalfield Collection, several papers of Welsh writers in English and the Richard Burton Collection, which was recently donated by his wife, Sally Burton. It is hoped that the collection will form the hub of a learning resource dedicated to the actor’s life and work.

Recent developments include a major extension in opening hours (8am to 2am Sundays to Thursdays; 8am to 8pm Fridays and Saturdays), the installation of a Costa coffee pod in the Group Study Area and the transfer of the stock of the Morriston Hospital Nursing Library to the Library & Information Centre.

[edit] Xtreme Radio 1431AM

Xtreme Radio is the radio station of the University, run by students. It was founded in November 1968 as Action Radio.[citation needed] It broadcasts to various areas around campus, around Swansea itself on 1431AM and worldwide on the internet. The station plays a wide variety of music, as well as having a number of specialist programmes including talk and sports shows. Xtreme will be forty years old on 30 November 2008, making it one of the longest established student radio stations in the UK.[citation needed]

[edit] Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Egypt Centre)

Located within the Taliesin building, the Egypt Centre is a museum of Egyptian antiquities open to the public. There are over 4500 items in the collection.[citation needed] Most of them were collected by the pharmacist Sir Henry Wellcome. Others came to the university from: the British Museum; the Royal Edinburgh Museum; National Museums and Galleries of Wales Cardiff; the Royal Albert Museum and Art Gallery and also private donors.

The Centre is a centre of excellence for museology,[citation needed] providing advice to other museums throughout Britain and collaborating with the Department of Classics and Ancient History on the Egyptology BA.

Egypt Centre staff regularly give lectures and talks to museum groups and other outside bodies on widening participation in university museums; social inclusion and volunteering. Schools regularly visit us to take part in a stimulating and interactive programme of events.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
  2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6972832.stm
  3. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Wales
  4. ^ [1] THES article 'Swansea Goes It Alone'
  5. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/ils/
  6. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/iat/
  7. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/RichardBurtonCentre/
  8. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforSustainableAquacultureResearch/
  9. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/english/crew/englishhome.htm
  10. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/MultidisciplinaryNanotechnologyCentre/
  11. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/InstituteofHealthResearch/
  12. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CognitiveNeuroscience/
  13. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CallaghanCentrefortheStudyofConflict/
  14. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforChildResearch/
  15. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforCommercialLawStudies/
  16. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforComplexFluidsProcessing/
  17. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforContemporaryGermanLiterature/
  18. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforCriminalJusticeandCriminology/
  19. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforDevelopmentStudies/
  20. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/classics/Research/ResearchCentres/CEMA/
  21. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforEnvironmentalandEnergyLawandPolicy/
  22. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforHealthInformationResearchEvaluation/
  23. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforMigrationPolicyResearch/
  24. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/arts/research/criss/
  25. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/cscr/
  26. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentrefortheStudyofCultureandPolitics/
  27. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/history/research/chwb
  28. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CentreforUrbanTheory/
  29. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/ChernobylTissueBank/
  30. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/engineering/Research/CivilandComputationalEngineeringCentre/
  31. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/CLASSIC/
  32. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/ElectronicsSystemDesignCentre/
  33. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/ims/
  34. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/Kyknos/
  35. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/Lifelonglearning/
  36. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/MaterialsResearchCentre/
  37. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/NationalCentreforPublicPolicy/
  38. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/PerformanceEngineeringTrainingConsortium/
  39. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/ProductLifecycleManagement/
  40. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/tram/
  41. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/VocabularyAcquistionResearchGroup/
  42. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/WalesInternationalCentreforChildhoodStudies/
  43. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/WELMERC/
  44. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/WelshCentreforPrintingandCoating/
  45. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/WittgensteinianStudies/
  46. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/GENCAS/
  47. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/GlaciologyGroup/
  48. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/iat/
  49. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/InstituteofEnvironmentalSustainability/
  50. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/InstituteofHealthResearch/
  51. ^ http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/centresandinstitutes/InstituteofInternationalShippingandTradeLaw/
  52. ^ http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-committees/bus-committees-third-assem/bus-committees-third-els-home/bus-committees-third-els-agendas.htm?act=dis&id=71547&ds=2/2008
  53. ^ BBC Article on the University's Ranking
  54. ^ Times League Table
  55. ^ 500.htm Academic World Ranking
  56. ^ Guardian Ranking

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
University of Wales
Accredited institutions Aberystwyth • Bangor • Lampeter • Newport • NEWI • Swansea • Swansea Metropolitan • Trinity • UWIC
Affiliated institutions Cardiff
Properties Gregynog
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