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CONTENTS

1. Why study in Cardiff?

2. About Cardiff

3. Cardiff University

4. Cardiff Metropolitan University

5. University of South Wales

6. Living in Cardiff

7. Entry requirements

8. Transport links

9. Getting around Cardiff

10. Things to do in Cardiff

Why study in Cardiff?

This small but vibrant city is home to three different universities that cover a wide range of degrees, and studying in Cardiff offers a huge range of social opportunities.

With a friendly student community and welcoming atmosphere, you’ll never be short of things to do. And no matter if you’re studying at Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan or the University of South Wales, you’ll leave with a valuable degree and lifelong friends.

Cardiff has an abundance of historical houses and castles. Cardiff Castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Wales. It houses over 2,000 years of history, from the Roman times to the present day. There are also loads of theatres and art galleries to explore.

About Cardiff

The Welsh capital of Cardiff is a lively, modern city on the south coast of the country. Here you'll find the Welsh Parliament (in the Senedd building), an attractive waterfront, and a friendly and diverse place to study.

Declared a music city and offering plenty of live gigs, Cardiff is also known for being an affordable place to live – so you’ll have plenty to sing about when you’re there.

Cardiff University

Founded in 1883, Cardiff University is one of Britain's leading research universities, and the only Welsh member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities.

The university has attractive and compact campuses and a hugely popular Students’ Union, all within walking distance of each other in a thriving capital city.

Location

The university's academic facilities are centred around Cathays Park in central Cardiff, which contains the university's main building, housing administrative facilities and the science library.

Several other academic facilities are located at the Heath Park campus, based at the University Hospital of Wales. This includes Cardiff University School of Medicine, the School of Dentistry, the School of Healthcare Sciences, and the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences.

Facilities

Cardiff uni has a brand new hub, which is the central home for all student support services. It also provides modern, flexible learning spaces.

The sports training village in the Talybont Halls complex offers excellent sports facilities. There are pitches for football and hockey, courts for badminton, basketball or tennis, and a gym.

See Cardiff University profile page for an interactive map and more information.

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Cardiff Metropolitan offers degree courses in a variety of subjects, with full-time and part-time undergraduate or postgraduate options plus research opportunities. The university has 12,500 students from 140 countries studying in Cardiff, and over 13,000 more enrolled with partner institutions around the world.

Location

Cardiff Met has two campus in Cardiff; one in Llandaff and the other in Cyncoed.

Llandaff Campus is located two miles from the city centre, surrounded by numerous parks, playing fields and the historic village of Llandaff. This campus is also located near Cardiff Met's Plas Gwyn residential campus.

Cyncoed Campus is base for the Cardiff School of Education & Social Policy and the Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences. It offers on-site accommodation and has a purpose-built Campus Centre. The campus also acts as the head office for the Students' Union.

Facilities

MyCardiffMet app allows students to check the availability of resources and facilities across campuses.

The uni offers a mix of quiet working spaces and study rooms. If you need them, laptops can be booked throughout the year via dedicated learning centres.

The university also has a dedicated team of advisors to help students with their finances, including advice on tuition fee loans, grants, support for care leavers, access to a hardship fund, and more.

See Cardiff Metropolitan University profile page for an interactive map and more information.

University of South Wales

The University of South Wales is the second largest university in Wales in terms of its student numbers, and offers a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The university has three main faculties across its campuses in South Wales.

Location

Campuses are based in Cardiff, Newport, and Pontypridd.

The Cardiff campus is home to the Faculty of Creative Industries, along with a smaller number of courses from the Faculty of Business and Society. The Atrium Building is the main building at this campus.

The university's newest campus is the Newport Campus on the west bank of the River Usk, opened in 2011.

Pontypridd Campus is the largest campus, with facilities that include an indoor sports centre. This is where the Students' Union is based.

Facilities

Each campus has a library that offers a range of resources, including books, journals, digital resources, PCs and Wi-Fi. The libraries provides a mix of study spaces, including areas for quiet study or group work, and easy access to cafe facilities.

Librarians are on hand to help students search for items using specialist databases and other online resources.

All three campuses have cafes on site.

See University of South Wales profile page for an interactive map and more information.

Living in Cardiff

All three universities help students to find accommodation, and accommodation may be guaranteed for first-year undergraduates if they meet the criteria. Living in halls often makes life easier with perks like 24/7 on-hand support, Wi-Fi, bike storage, access to nearby facilities and a chance to meet other people starting uni.

From the second year onwards, you’ll need to find your own accommodation. It’s a good idea to think about this in the second half of first year so you have more options. Cathays, Roath, Plasnewydd and Tredegarville are all popular student areas to consider.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements vary from uni to uni and course to course – the best way to check what you need to get into your preferred course at each university is to use our and see what each course’s entry requirements are.

Transport links

Average train journey times from Cardiff

Getting around Cardiff

Cardiff is a compact city and many of the university buildings and student accommodation are within walking distance or a bike ride away. If you’re further out, there’s a regular bus and train service to get you from A to B.

Bus

Cardiff Bus runs a regular bus service across the city offering student discounts and you can pay on the bus by contactless card. If you want to go outside the city, Stagecoach runs services to surrounding areas like Caerphilly and the Valleys. More information can be found on the Traveline Cymru website.

Train

There is a local rail network in Cardiff called the Valley Line that can take you to many areas of the city with Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central being the main hubs. These are also the stations to travel from if you want to go to other major cities like London.

Walk

Walking around the city is easy with a lot of it pedestrianised. There are scenic walks along the waterfront area and to Cardiff Bay.

Cycle

Cycling is a great way of getting around the city and there are good bike facilities at each university.

Other

Various taxi companies run in the city along with Uber if you need a more expensive means of transport. There’s also a waterbus if you want a different way to get from the centre to Cardiff Bay.

Things to do in Cardiff

Unsurprisingly for a capital city, Cardiff has a lot going on, from shops galore, great entertainment venues and big sporting events to loads of tourist attractions and interesting tours. Whatever you’re into, you’ll probably find it here.

Food and drink

Cardiff is a great city for foodies with lots of choice to suit all tastes and budgets. Along with the usual chains, there are plenty of independent restaurants and cafes to try. The Cathays area is a good place to find student friendly eateries to hang out in. Cardiff has a great reputation for Indian food so if you like curry, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Look out for regular street food pop-ups and markets. If you want something a bit different, visit The Clink, a restaurant found at Her Majesty’s Prison, Knox Road, Cardiff. Staffed by inmates, food often features ingredients grown on the prison farm.

Nightlife

With Cardiff’s reputation as a music city, a night out is going to involve music somewhere along the line. Some of the city’s live music and club venues include Clwb Ifor Bach, Tramshed, The Globe, The Moon, Fuel Rock Club and the Live Lounge.

If you fancy heading to the pub, the Blackweir Tavern has something on every night of the week from pub quizzes, game nights, and karaoke. If you fancy a laugh, The Glee Club will happily oblige.

Outdoors

Cardiff is big on sport with football at at the Cardiff City Stadium and international rugby at the Principality Stadium, along with cricket and ice hockey. There’re some great city green spaces like Bute Park, next to Cardiff Castle, Roath Park with a boating lake and Victoria Park for a cheeky picnic.

An hour out of Cardiff, you have Brecon Beacons National Park to explore and a plethora of water sports to enjoy in Cardiff Bay including rafting, stand up paddleboarding, sailing, and windsurfing.

Arts and culture

Cardiff Castle is the obvious thing to do first as along with great views of the city, you’ll be given free entry after your first visit as a Cardiff resident. The Museum of Cardiff is also free to visit and gives an engaging insight into Cardiff history.

If you’re a film buff, Chapter Cinema is an independent venue with a cosy cafe, offering discounted student rates. Wales Millennium Centre, known locally as ‘the armadillo,’ is an amazing arts venue in Cardiff Bay. For a bit of art, why not visit one of the many galleries in the city such as the National Museum, which houses one of Europe’s finest art collections, or Oriel Canfas Gallery artists co-operative.