The third-oldest university in England and Wales, after Oxford and Cambridge, with an original royal charter from 1828, the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) is a modern institution with an ancient history. It was founded in 1822 as St David’s College, became University of Wales Lampeter in 1970 and took its present form in 2010 through a merger with Trinity University College Carmarthen. Three years later it absorbed Swansea Metropolitan University, forming a multi-campus institution that delves deeper into west Wales than any other. There are also campuses in Cardiff, Birmingham and London, and each of the six sites has its own specialism.

Students enjoy the community spirit and small class sizes; the university ranks third in Wales and eighth in the UK for student satisfaction with teaching quality, based on our analysis of the latest National Student Survey. It fares nearly as well in students’ evaluation of the broad experience, placing 20= in the UK and third in Wales. Social scenes and sports options vary from campus to campus, while accommodation, split between Carmarthen and Lampeter, has been recently upgraded. 

What is UWTSD’s reputation? 

Two years after its bicentenary UWTSD is looking to the future with its £9.3 million Innovation Matrix, part of the waterfront Innovation Quarter in Swansea, designed for sharing research and knowledge with businesses and entrepreneurs. An improved performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) has prompted a 13-place rise in our research quality index since REF 2014, with UWTSD sitting just outside the top 100. Its best results were in art and design, education, Celtic languages and literature, theology, and psychology. UWTSD’s automotive engineering courses — especially its motorsport programmes — are among its best-known and are based at Swansea, which is the location of another flagship department: Swansea School of Art, the oldest art school in Wales. 

Historic Lampeter is the home of humanities, and students of subjects from archaeology and ancient civilisations to creative writing and liberal arts benefit from the inspiring setting. The Carmarthen site, established in 1848 to train teachers, offers programmes in the creative and performing arts, as well as a growing portfolio within the school of sport, health and outdoor education. Courses in Cardiff include musical theatre, and in Birmingham and Oval, south London, there are business-focused and health and social care degrees. 

A seven-place rise in our main table is down to impressive feedback recorded in the National Student Survey 2024, but UWTSD is held back by a relatively low proportion of students (70.6 per cent) achieving firsts and 2:1s, and it has the 11th highest student-to-staff ratio (20.3:1). Its continuation rate is another sticking point, with a relatively high proportion of students dropping out of their studies before the second year. However, this is often a result of a diverse intake, and four in five UWTSD students are aged over 21 when they enrol.

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

N/A.

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

Courses require from 80 to 120 Ucas tariff points. Nearly four in ten applicants were eligible for a contextual offer in 2023, and 13 per cent of students secured a place through clearing.

What are the graduate prospects?

There are opportunities to gain professional qualifications, work placements and internships with partner organisations such as Jaguar Land Rover, South Wales Police and H&M. But UWTSD is dragged further into the bottom ten of our graduate prospects ranking this year with a three-place drop (to 126th), based on 59.6 per cent of its graduates being in high-skilled jobs or further study 15 months after finishing their degrees.

What is UWTSD’s campus like?

A rural setting and historic buildings frame the scene at Lampeter, where the library and the Roderic Bowen Library and Archives hold about 275,000 volumes between them. Researchers from across the world visit UWTSD to view its special collections of historic printed works, medieval manuscripts and archives. At Carmarthen, old meets new with its 19th-century Old College and the Canolfan S4C Yr Egin creative and digital centre. There is also a workshop and theatre for performing arts students. 

In Swansea UWTSD occupies three locations and has facilities such as, for its automotive engineering students, a simulator for big data analysis that feeds back into the design of a vehicle for on-track testing. Stained glass is among the creative specialisms taught at the Swansea School of Art, and the Construction Wales Innovation Centre in the city provides laser measurement and surveying equipment for hands-on learning, as well as virtual reality construction applications and drones for construction environments.

Everything you need to know about student life and wellbeing support at UWTSD

Swansea, Cardiff, Birmingham and London are all buzzy student hubs, while Carmarthen and Lampeter have plenty of their own charms, not least breathtaking scenery and proximity to west Wales beaches and the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). Indoor and outdoor sports facilities are available at Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, including a 40ft climbing wall. And a counselling unit and mental health advisers provide support for student wellbeing. Self-help resources can be accessed through the Togetherall online platform and the Feeling Good app. 

What do the students say?

“Our Carmarthen campus has great courses, and its small hearty nature in a bustling town was one of the reasons I decided to study here. Having six campuses offers students an incredible range of experiences, from a campus dedicated to theatre and performing arts in the heart of Cardiff to the skills and business degrees in central London and Birmingham.”
Taya Gibbons, students’ union group president 23-24, sports therapy 

What about student accommodation at UWTSD?

There is no accommodation guarantee, but it is rare for a first-year student to miss out on a room on the Carmarthen and Lampeter campuses.

How diverse and inclusive is UWTSD?

A high achiever in our social inclusion index, sitting within the top 20, UWTSD draws almost all (97.7 per cent) of its undergraduates from non-selective state schools, and nearly 80 per cent are mature students.

Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at UWTSD

Broad provision, including awards for laptops and broadband grants, benefits nearly three in ten entrants. There is also specific help to support inclusion and diversity, such as the transgender and non-binary student wellbeing bursary, parents and carers bursary, and ethnicity equality bursary.