A former winner of our Welsh University of the Year award (2021) and runner-up for the 2024 title, Cardiff Met is known for fielding a strong sporting tradition on the pitch as well as in the lecture hall, aspiring to be the leading Welsh university for sport. The Cyncoed campus to the north of the student-friendly city is already the base for sports governing bodies such as Welsh Athletics and Team Wales, which prepares athletes for competition in the Commonwealth Games. An exhaustive (and exhausting, presumably) list of facilities includes the £7 million National Indoor Athletics Centre, which has a six-lane 140m straight as well as competition-standard long jump, high jump and pole vault pits, and physiotherapy and sports medicine facilities.
What is Cardiff Metropolitan University’s reputation?
More than 40 degrees have been added in the past six years and it has launched a School of Technologies — which joins schools of art and design, education and social policy, sport and health sciences, and management.
In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) the university climbed to 78 from 107. Four times as many staff submitted work for assessment compared with the previous submissions in 2014, and 79 per cent of that work was judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent. Sport produced the best results, with 88 per cent of its submission assessed to be in the top two categories. There were good results in art and design too.
Cardiff Met is aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2030, but has dropped from 6th place to 12th in the People & Planet league of UK universities 2024-25 (a ranking based on its environmental and ethical performance). Rising student numbers have helped to drive expansion into low-carbon futures and environmental sustainability.
Despite the upturn in undergraduate recruitment, Cardiff Met is among the many UK universities seeking to make cost savings, and potential job losses have been reported.
Our latest National Student Survey analysis shows that the university ranks 66th for student satisfaction with teaching quality (down from 52nd) and 66= for the wider undergraduate experience (down from 49th).Unusually, Cardiff Met has about as many students enrolled on its transnational degrees via a network of 12 partner colleges globally as it does at the main site. It also partners with more than 100 universities, institutions and organisations in nearly 30 countries to enable students to study abroad for periods of one week to a year.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
New for 2025 are degrees in interior design, politics and international relations, electrical and electronic engineering, health and wellbeing (top-up), and psychology and criminology (also franchised to NPTC Group of Colleges).
In 2026 Cardiff Met will introduce a foundation sport course, from where students can study their choice of the sport degrees.
What are Cardiff Metropolitan University’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Entry requirements range from 96 Ucas tariff points (CCC at A-level) to 128 (ABB). Foundation courses require 32 to 64 Ucas tariff points. Contextual admissions apply to all courses, offering a one-grade reduction, and benefitted 70 per cent of Cardiff Met’s new undergraduates in 2024. Almost a fifth (18 per cent) of new students enrolled through clearing in 2024.
What are the graduate prospects?
The academic schools have links with industry partners, facilitating course design that is aligned to skills requirements, providing work experience and helping students land graduate jobs. In our analysis of the proportion of graduates in highly skilled work or further study within 15 months, Cardiff Met’s charge up our table in recent years has been arrested. The university has fallen 11 places to 74=.
Support for graduate start-ups is provided through the university’s Centre for Entrepreneurship.
What is Cardiff Metropolitan University’s campus like?
Cardiff Met’s two campuses — Llandaff and Cyncoed — are close to the city centre. The Cyncoed campus is the main site for student housing and sport. As well as the National Indoor Athletics Centre it hosts an archers’ arena, tennis and fitness centres, grass pitches, 3G pitches, a swimming pool, and a sprung-floor gym. Recent additions include a strength and conditioning centre and improved pitch-side facilities for rugby and hockey.
Llandaff is home to the Cardiff School of Technologies, where there is a drone research facility, and the School of Art and Design, which hosts workshops for ceramics and fabric treatment as well as augmented reality technology and audio-visual equipment.
The university hopes to reduce car journeys to campus and encourage students to use the Taff Trail, part of a popular national cycle route. It has beehives, uses energy-efficient lighting and is developing a renewable energy infrastructure. Improving biodiversity by creating more areas for wildflowers is another focus, and students attend workshops on how to connect with nature.
When can I visit?
cardiffmet.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about Cardiff Metropolitan University’s student life and wellbeing support
From students’ union activities to high-level competition through Bucs (British Universities and Colleges Sport), there is no shortage of opportunities to get involved. Cardiff Met has Welsh Premier League sides in men’s and women’s football, and national and international sporting competitions. There are 12 rugby teams — including eight Bucs teams and several WRU district teams. To support mental health and wellbeing there are psychoeducational workshops that explore ways to improve sleep and manage anxiety, as well as one-to-one counselling and online help with developing healthy habits. The university has a “suicide safer” strategy and works with Papyrus, the national charity supporting young people at risk of taking their own life.
During the summer Cardiff Met runs transition events — with tips on dealing with neurodiversity or mental health issues — to help new students prepare for the start of term.
Cardiff Met takes pride in its sense of community and its friendly environment. The city itself is a thriving student hub packed with nightlife, culture and sport.
What do the students say?
“From inspiring lecturers and hands-on learning to excellent sports facilities and support services, the university allows you to grow academically and personally. Cardiff offers rich culture, green spaces, diverse and friendly people, networking opportunities, and buzzing nightlife.”
Rewathi Viswanatham, students’ union vice president, education
What about student accommodation at Cardiff Metropolitan University?
First-years are guaranteed a room as long as they make Cardiff Met their firm choice and apply by the end of May. Students must complete a compulsory halls induction course online, which includes sections on sexual consent, alcohol and drugs.
How diverse and inclusive is Cardiff Metropolitan University?
Four years ago Cardiff Met was in the top 30 in our social inclusion index, but it is now 54=.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Cardiff Metropolitan University
About a fifth of new students tend to qualify for financial assistance. Awards include performance and elite sports scholarships; the Sanctuary award for refugees and asylum seekers, which provides full tuition fee remission; and varying Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol awards worth up to £3,000 for applicants studying in the Welsh language.
