Swansea University, UK

Routinely ranked among the world’s top 500, this 91-year-old university hosts an astounding 52 research centres and institutes in its scenic campus overlooking Swansea Bay

Sited on a 46-acre parkland campus overlooking the scenic Swansea Bay, Swansea University, Wales (estb.1920) enjoys a transnational reputation for teaching and research excellence. The Times Higher Education Supplement (2008) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2006) ranked Swansea among the world’s top 500 universities (347 and 383 respectively) in their league tables.

Moreover this 91-year-old university is highly rated in the UK for its research capabilities and hosts an astounding 52 research centres and institutes. The UK’s national Research Assessment Exercise 2008 certified that 90 percent of Swansea faculty is research-active; 47.5 percent of the research conducted is rated excellent internationally and the university’s civil engineering depart-ment is ranked second in the UK after its Cambridge University counterpart. In the academic year 2009-10, Swansea attracted research grants aggregating £65 million (Rs.474 crore), eclipsing its previous annual average of £19 million (Rs.138 crore).

Given this exceptional focus on research, it’s unsurprising that research-led and practice-driven teaching is the rule rather than exception in Swansea’s curriculums. Comments Professor Richard B. Davies, vice chancellor of the university: “The momentum we have gained as one of the UK’s most ambitious research-led universities has made us a natural university of choice for many talented students and the increase in applications to study here is a clear indication of our success. I believe that we’ve struck the right balance between excellent teaching and research, matched by superb quality of life.”

The foundation stone of Swansea U was laid by King George V in 1920 and its first batch of 89 students (including eight women) was admitted the same year. Currently Swansea’s eight schools offer industry-relevant and contemporary undergraduate and postgrad study programmes to 13,786 students, including 1,729 from 120 countries worldwide.

Swansea. This seaside city (pop.230,000) is famous for the stunning vistas offered by its beaches and parks. Unspoilt beaches and dramatic cliff top views have transformed Swansea into a hub of water-sports, cycling and walking, as well as research opportunities for students studying the natural sciences. The Gower Peninsula, Britain’s first ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, is within easy reach of the city centre.

Shopping options are plentiful and include the city’s world-famous indoor market which dates back to the Middle Ages. Swansea also boasts the tallest building in Wales — the £70 million (Rs.511 crore) Meridian Quay develop-ment. The city is also a cultural hub with the Dylan Thomas Centre, which celebrates the life and work of the great Welsh poet, offered pride of place. Theatres, museums and galleries showcase the city’s rich cultural diversity. London is less than three hours away by train and Cardiff an hour.
Given its coastal character, Swansea’s climate is strongly influenced by its waterfront setting with the Atlantic Ocean often bringing heavy rain and strong winds, resulting in this coastal city experiencing the region’s wettest weather. Winter temperatures tend to remain above freezing point though snow is not a rarity. Summer temper-atures usually range between 20-25oC.

Campus facilities. The university’s campus is sited in the midst of Singleton Park and Singleton Botanical Gardens on rolling parklands over-looking the majestic sweep of Swansea Bay. The campus is a stone’s throw from the old fishing village of Mumbles, and a few minutes from the Maritime Quarter, a modern waterfront village complete with restaurants, art gallery, theatre and a busy marina. At the heart of this 46-acre scenic campus is the Taliesin Arts Centre which hosts cultural programmes and also houses the Ceri Richards Gallery and The Egypt Centre, a two-storey gallery displaying over a thousand ancient Egypt artefacts dating from 3,500 BC-500 AD. Other monu-ments include Singleton Abbey, the main administrative building; Fulton House which offers a range of student services and the Digital Technium, a new £4.3 million (Rs.31 crore) building housing business incubator units and research and development facilities. The Library and Information Centre contains over 800,000 volumes and periodicals and 23,000 electronic journals.

Sports facilities include a £20 million (Rs.146 crore) Sports Village hosting the Wales National Pool Swansea, a fully equipped UniGym with over 80 fitness stations, indoor training centre, climbing wall, physiotherapy suite, sports massage facilities and a multipurpose sports hall. Moreover students have access to four rugby pitches, six football grounds, two cricket squares, 12 tennis courts, two all-weather pitches, five-a-side courts, a lacrosse pitch, and an eight-lane athletics track. The Swansea University Students Union also runs over 120 clubs and societies which host social and cultural activities year round.

Other campus facilities include shops, a health centre, bars, a post office, bookshop, and restaurants.

Admission. All applications for admission into full-time under-graduate degree programmes in UK varsities including Swansea, must be made through UCAS (Universities Colleges and Admissions Service). Students can apply online at www. ucas.ac.uk (application fee: £22). The UCAS code for Swansea is SWAN S93. The deadline for receipt of admission applications is January 15, 2012. The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into undergrad progra-mmes is Plus Two. In addition students must submit proof of proficiency in the English language (IELTS/TOEFL scores are acceptable). Students who don’t meet the university’s admission requirements have the option of enroling in the International Foundation Programme. For admission into postgraduate programmes, applications must be made directly to the university and a bachelor’s degree is mandatory.

For further information contact Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK; Tel: +44 (0)1792 602365; Fax: +44 (0)1792 295839; email: admissions@swansea.ac.uk; website: www.swansea.ac.uk.

Accommodation. Swansea offers student accommodation in nine campus residences. Some of them are self-catering and comprise fully-furnished, en suite and standard rooms with a shared kitchen and dining area while others are part-catered built in traditional hall style with around 20 rooms and a shared kitchen per floor.  In addition, approximately two miles from campus is the university managed Hendrefoelan Student Village which provides self-catering accommodation in flats and houses to 1,600 students.

Degree programmes. Swansea University’s eight schools offer over 500 undergraduate and 130 postgrad study programmes (see box).

Summiya Yasmeen