Applications to study in the heart of the Welsh capital reached record numbers in 2023 when more than 46,000 students chose Cardiff. The academic clout of the research-led institution — Wales’s only Russell Group university — is a draw, as is the lively culture of this walkable city with its thriving music scene, big sporting events and hip student-centric enclaves.

For the first time since its founding 141 years ago, the university has a female vice-chancellor, Professor Wendy Larner, a social scientist from New Zealand whose research focus is on globalisation, governance and gender. She has started the Big Conversation — a chance for staff and students to share their views on the university and shape its strategic direction. It is already investing £5.4 million in five new research and innovation institutes in the fields of digital transformation; net zero; neuroscience and mental health; security, crime and intelligence; and systems immunity. 

What is Cardiff University’s reputation? 

The top-ranked university in Wales in our main academic table, Cardiff received glowing results in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) with 90 per cent of its submission rated world-leading or internationally excellent. Philosophy; communication and media studies; education; and architecture were among the subjects that lifted Cardiff 13 places to 21st for research, one of the biggest risers among Russell Group universities. 

In common with many research-intensive institutions, however, Cardiff has tended to receive lukewarm responses in the National Student Survey. In our new analysis Cardiff has fallen by 23 places for satisfaction with teaching quality (117th) but gained two places for feedback about the wider undergraduate experience (83rd).

What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available? 

A BA in modern Chinese is now available and an online modern languages course is on the way in 2025. An LLB degree in law and French has been withdrawn. 

What are Cardiff University’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?

A high-tariff university, Cardiff makes offers ranging from BBC up to A*AA. Contextual offers — received by about 28 per cent of UK entrants — reduce standard requirements by one grade except for medicine and dentistry, where applicants may be given extra points in the interview process instead. About 15 per cent of Cardiff’s new undergraduates in 2023 entered through clearing. 

What are the graduate prospects?

Cardiff has improved its top 20 performance by one place in our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey (13=), with 85.1 per cent of leavers in highly skilled work or further study 15 months after finishing their degree. Students benefit from the university’s strategic partnerships with industry and public or third-sector organisations — such as the Office for National Statistics, Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales), Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the Airbus Centre of Excellence for Cybersecurity Analytics and the insurer Admiral — for internships, work placements and secondment opportunities. Student entrepreneurship gets a leg-up via Cardiff’s innovation culture, which connects students with industry and research. 

What is Cardiff University's campus like?

Pale stone buildings on the tree-lined avenues around Cathays Park are the elegant heart of the campus. Cardiff’s £600 million campus upgrade — the biggest for a generation — has boosted the undergraduate experience. The Centre for Student Life opened in 2021, bringing  study space and a lecture theatre under the same roof as support services in a £50 million project.

The £39 million Abacws Building combines the School of Computer Science and Informatics and the School of Mathematics, while a £17 million modernisation project at the Bute Building, the home of the Welsh School of Architecture, has added a “living lab” where researchers can work on projects with community and industry input. Studios have been relocated to make room for the architectural robotics laboratory. 

The Sbarc (Spark) Building on the Innovation Campus is a place where researchers and entrepreneurs work together on spinours and start-up companies. The Translational Research Hub, a 12,000 sq m research base on the Innovation Campus, brings industrial partners alongside researchers to design, develop and test new cleaner, greener products and processes. It houses the well-established Cardiff Catalysis Institute and the Institute for Compound Semiconductors.

The healthcare sciences share a 53-acre campus at Heath Park with the University Hospital Wales. A new facility opened early in 2024 with a mock hospital ward and operating theatre where students can learn in authentic environments. Technology-enhanced learning has been embraced by Cardiff, and its school of dentistry — the only one in Wales — has modern training facilities including a simulation suite.

Everything you need to know about Cardiff University’s student life and wellbeing support

Sixty-five sports teams keep students on their toes and there are more than 200 student societies, not least for performance and artistic pursuits. Cardiff’s live music scene, bars and clubs and its relative affordability create an upbeat student vibe. The Millennium Stadium hosts big matches all year and from Cardiff, adventures on the coast and Bannau Brycheiniog — the Brecon Beacons National Park — are not far away.

Self-help resources, neurodiverse group counselling, peer-to-peer support and one-to-one counselling are available for students looking after their mental health and wellbeing. For those living in halls, the Residence Life Team organises social activities for students to meet and broaden their friendship group and interests. Cardiff is among the minority of universities to make sexual consent training compulsory: from 2024 students will complete a module on the topic as part of their orientation.

The redevelopment of the university’s Llanrumney sports fields has created five floodlit all-weather pitches — two of them up to Fifa and International Rugby Board standards — as well as spectator stands and a warm-up area. The university has a three-floor fitness centre at Senghennydd Road at the heart of the main campus. At the Talybont campus, the Sports Training Village has floodlit outdoor courts and pitches and two sports halls. Studio 49, the university’s dance studio, runs popular Pilates, yoga, Zumba and spin classes.

What do the students say?

“Cardiff is a great place to live as a student; from accommodation to general cost of living, it feels affordable. Studying here has been a life-changing experience. While lectures and labs were essential in learning about engineering, it was the student community and opportunities available which allowed me to work part-time whilst studying, become a student rep, run a society, and even volunteer.”
Angie Flores Acuña, Cardiff students’ union president and medical engineering graduate

What about student accommodation at Cardiff University? 

All first-years who apply by the deadline are guaranteed one of 6,030 rooms for between £119.21 and £168.84 per week. A small number of places (about 6 per cent) are catered.

How diverse and inclusive is Cardiff University?

Outreach activities designed to widen participation include the Sutton Trust, Discovery and Reaching Wider programmes. In our social inclusion index, Cardiff remains in the top 100 (up one place to 98th) and is eighth out of the 21 members of the Russell Group in England and Wales.

Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Cardiff University

About a fifth of new entrants received some form of financial support. The main Cardiff University Bursary is given to students from lower-income households and there is targeted support for students who are unpaid carers, have served in the armed forces, are leaving care or who are estranged from their families. In memory of the 1966 disaster in the mining town of Aberfan, the university also has a fund that pays  up to £1,500 over three years to students whose parents lived there, or who now live in Merthyr Tydfil.

Merit-based scholarships are offered for engineering, music and Welsh. The Cowrie Foundation scholarship (up to £8,000 a year plus mentorship) benefits financially disadvantaged black British students.