University of Wales

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University of Wales
Prifysgol Cymru
Coat of Arms of the University of Wales
Motto: Goreu Awen Gwirionedd
(the best inspiration is truth)
Established: 1893
Type: Confederal, non-membership University[1]
Chancellor: The Prince of Wales
Vice-Chancellor: Professor Marc Clement
Pro-Chancellor: Archbishop Dr Barry Morgan
Location: Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Wrexham, Carmarthen and Lampeter, Wales, UK
Campus: Urban and rural
Colours:
                       
Affiliations: Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities
Association of Commonwealth Universities
Website: http://www.wales.ac.uk/
Logo of the University of Wales

The University of Wales (Prifysgol Cymru in Welsh) is a confederal university founded in 1893. It has accredited institutions throughout Wales, ranging from nineteenth-century establishments like Aberystywth and Bangor to post-1992 universities like Newport and institutes of higher education such as UWIC and NEWI. Indeed, the only university in Wales completely separate from the University of Wales is the University of Glamorgan in Pontypridd. It also accredits courses abroad and has over 100,000 students.

The Chancellor of the University of Wales is HRH the Prince of Wales and the Pro-Chancellor is the Archbishop of Wales, Dr. Barry Morgan. The Vice-Chancellor is currently Professor Marc Clement.

Contents

[edit] History

The University of Wales was founded in Wales in 1893 as a federal university with three foundation colleges: University College Wales (now Aberystwyth University), which had been founded in 1872 and University College North Wales (now Bangor University) and University College South Wales and Monmouthshire (now Cardiff University) which were founded following the Aberdare Report in 1881. Prior to the foundation of the federal University, these three colleges had prepared students for the examinations of the University of London. A fourth college, Swansea (now Swansea University), was added in 1920 and in 1931 the Welsh School of Medicine was established in Cardiff. In 1967 the Welsh College of Advanced Technology entered the federal University as the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST), also in Cardiff. In 1971 St David's College (now UW Lampeter), Wales' oldest degree-awarding institution, suspended its own degree-awarding powers and entered the University of Wales. A financial crisis in the late eighties caused UWIST and University College Cardiff to merge in 1988, forming the University of Wales College Cardiff (UWCC). In 1992 the University lost its position as the only university in Wales when the Polytechnic of Wales became the University of Glamorgan.

The University was composed of colleges until 1996, when the University was reorganised with a two-tier structure of member institutions in order to absorb the Cardiff Institute of Higher Education (which became the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC)) and the Gwent College of Higher Education (which became University of Wales College, Newport (UWCN)). The existing colleges became constituent institutions and the two new member institutions became university colleges. In 2003, both of these colleges became full constituent institutions and in 2004 UWCN received permission from the Privy Council to change its name to the University of Wales, Newport.

Cardiff University and the University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM) merged on August 1, 2004. The merged institution, known as Cardiff University, ceased to be a constituent institution and became a new category of 'Affiliated/Linked Institutions'. While the new institution will continue to award University of Wales degrees in medicine and related subjects, students joining Cardiff from 2005 to study other subjects will be awarded Cardiff University degrees.

At the same time, the University admitted four new institutions, helping to fill the void left by the loss of Cardiff and UWCM. Thus, North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI), Swansea Institute of Higher Education and Trinity College, Carmarthen (who were all previously Associated Institutions) along with the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (which was previously a Validated Institution) were admitted as full members of the University on July 27, 2004.

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama subsequently left the University in January 2007 to become an independent college once again. It retains no ties to the University (expect for students completing legacy Wales courses) and now has its degrees awarded by the University of Glamorgan. More changes followed in September 2007 when the university changed from a federal structure to a confederation of independent institutions. At the same time, Swansea changed its name to 'Swansea University' (a name it had been using publicly for some time) and Bangor to 'Bangor University'. Aberystwyth changed its name to 'Aberystwyth University' in October of the same year. All former member institutions are now independent universities, but all still have their degrees awarded by the University of Wales.

[edit] Accredited institutions

College Established Undergraduate students Postgraduate students Location Vice-Chancellor
Aberystwyth University 1872 8,450 2,570 Aberystwyth Noel G. Lloyd
Bangor University 1884 9,500 Bangor Professor Merfyn Jones
Swansea University 1920 11,355 2,470 Swansea Prof. Richard B. Davies
University of Wales, Newport 1975 7,525 1,850 Newport Peter Noyes
North East Wales Institute of Higher Education 1975 6,000 Wrexham Professor Michael Scott
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff 1996 9,275 Cardiff Professor Antony J Chapman
University of Wales, Lampeter 1822 7,455 1,035 Lampeter Professor Robert A Pearce
Swansea Metropolitan University 2008 Swansea Professor David Warner
Trinity College, Carmarthen 1848 2,200 Carmarthen Medwin Hughes

[edit] Affiliated institutions

Cardiff was once a full member of the University but has now left (though it retains some ties). When Cardiff left, it merged with the University of Wales College of Medicine (which was also a former member). Currently Cardiff still awards University of Wales degrees, but awards its own degrees to students admitted from 2005 (except in Medicine and related subjects where University of Wales degrees continue to be awarded).

[edit] Validated insititutions

These institutions are not accredited by the University, but do have some of their courses validated by them.Institutions such as Imperial are validated by University of Wales.

[edit] Former members

[edit] Central services

The University of Wales Registry, in Cardiff's Civic Centre, is the central administrative centre and the place that actually registers degrees and sends out degree certificates as well as validating the degrees of the University that are offered outside the accredited institutions. The University also directly runs the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (incorporating the Welsh Dictionary Unit), located alongside the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The first edition of Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (University of Wales Dictionary), which has the same status for Welsh as the OED does for English, was completed in 2002, eighty-two years after it had been started. The University of Wales Press was founded in 1922 and publishes around sixty books a year in both English and Welsh. The University also runs the Gregynog conference and fieldwork centre in mid-Wales, based around the 150 year-old Gregynog Hall - one of Britain's oldest concrete buildings.

[edit] Bibliography

  • The University of Wales: A Historical Sketch written by D.Emrys Evans in 1953 by the University of Wales Press. It is illustrated with black and white photographic plates, and contains an Appendix listing 'Authorities and Officers of the University' and 'Professors and Other Heads of Departments' since 1872[2]

[edit] See also

Wales Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Registrar's Office
  2. ^ Detail obtained from a copy The University of Wales" with the date of 1953

[edit] External links

v • d • e
University of Wales
Accredited institutions
Affiliated institutions
Properties
v • d • e
University Alliance