The University of South Wales was founded in 2013 through the merging of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport.
The University of Wales, Newport originated in the Newport Mechanics’ Institute, founded in 1841. The South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines, founded in 1913, evolved into the Polytechnic of Wales before becoming the University of Glamorgan in 1992.
At the university’s formation it was the sixth largest university in the United Kingdom, with 33,500 students.
In 2014, Rowan Williams, who was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, was appointed chancellor of the university.
Spread over its campuses in Cardiff, Pontypridd and Newport, there are four faculties: Business and Society; Computing; Engineering and Science; Creative Industries; and Life Sciences and Education.
The school prides itself on the high employment rates of its graduates and students are given the opportunity to prepare for the working world with simulation environments, such as a courtroom, forensic scene of crime house, film, fashion and music studios, and an aerospace centre with two aircraft hangars.
The School of Creative Industries is renowned for producing theatre designers, poets, scriptwriters, and authors. It includes a film school, animation facilities, broadcasting studios, and a photography school. The university is also famous for its national music and drama conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
In 2016 the university launched The National Cyber Security Academy, a joint venture with industrial partners and the Welsh Government.
The university has produced many notable artists, writers, media personalities, and politicians, such as the artist Roger Cecil, the science fiction author Gareth L. Powell, and the filmmaker known for such documentaries as Amy and Senna, Asif Kapadia.
