Cardiff University () is a
public research university
A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the
University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed University College, Cardiff in 1972 and merged with the
University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology in 1988 to become University of Wales College, Cardiff and then University of Wales, Cardiff in 1996. In 1997 it received
degree-awarding powers, but held them in abeyance. It adopted the
operating name of Cardiff University in 1999; this became its legal name in 2005, when it became an independent university awarding its own degrees.
Cardiff University is the only
Welsh member of the
Russell Group of research-intensive British universities. Academics and alumni of the university have included four heads of state or government and two Nobel laureates. the university's academics include 17 fellows of the Royal Society, 11 fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, seven fellows of the British Academy, 21 fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences and 32 fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.
History
University college
The foundation of the university college in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
that was to become Cardiff University was part of the Welsh university movement of the second half of the 19th century, which also led to the foundation of the colleges at Aberystwyth and Bangor (now
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
and
Bangor universities) and the federal
University of Wales. The movement began at a meeting in London in 1854 called by
Hugh Owen, including leaders of Welsh theological colleges and members of parliament. This meeting discussed establishing university colleges in Wales along the same lines as the
Queen's Colleges established the previous decade in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, and produced a formal proposal, the "Outline of Constitution for Proposed Welsh Queen's Colleges".
Discussions on the founding of a university college in
South Wales
South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
were revived in 1879, when a group of Welsh and English
MPs urged the government to consider the poor provision of higher and intermediate
education in Wales and "the best means of assisting any local effort which may be made for supplying such deficiency."
In August 1880,
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
's government appointed a departmental committee to conduct "an enquiry into the nature and extent of intermediate and higher education in Wales", chaired by
the 1st Baron Aberdare and consisting of
Viscount Emlyn, the Reverend Prebendary H. G. Robinson,
Henry Richard,
John Rhys and
Lewis Morris. The
Aberdare Report, as it came to be known, took evidence from a wide range of sources and over 250 witnesses and recommended a college each for North Wales and South Wales, the latter to be located in
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
and the former to be the established University College of Wales in Aberystwyth (now
Aberystwyth University). The committee cited the unique Welsh national identity and noted that many students in Wales could not afford to travel to University in England or Scotland. It advocated a national degree-awarding university for Wales, composed of regional colleges, which should be non-sectarian in nature and exclude the teaching of theology.
[ Transcribed by the Right Reverend Dr. Terry Brown, Bishop of Malaita, Church of the Province of Melanesia, 2008.]

After the recommendation was published,
Cardiff Corporation sought to secure the location of the college in Cardiff, and on 12 December 1881 formed a University College Committee to aid the matter.
There was competition to be the site between
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
and Cardiff. On 12 March 1883, after arbitration, a decision was made in Cardiff's favour.
This was strengthened by the need to consider the interests of
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
, at that time not legally incorporated into Wales, and the greater sum received by Cardiff in support of the college, through a public appeal that raised £37,000 and a number of private donations, notably from
the 3rd Marquess of Bute and
Lord Windsor.
In April, Lord Aberdare was appointed as the college's first president.
The possible locations considered included
Cardiff Arms Park, Cathedral Road, and Moira Terrace,
Roath, before the site of the Old Royal Infirmary buildings on Newport Road was chosen.
The University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire opened on 24 October 1883 with courses in biology, chemistry, English, French, German, Greek, history, Latin, mathematics and astronomy, music, Welsh, logic and philosophy, and physics. It was incorporated by
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
the following year; this was the first charter in Wales to allow the enrolment of women and to specifically forbid religious tests for entry.
John Viriamu Jones was appointed as the college's first principal at the age of 27. As the college was not an independent university and could not award its own degrees, it prepared its students for the examinations of the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
or for further study at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
or
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.
In 1888 the university college at Cardiff and the University College of North Wales (now
Bangor University) proposed to the University College Wales at Aberystwyth joint action to gain a university charter for Wales, modelled on that of the
Victoria University, a federal university in northern England with colleges in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. This led to a charter being granted to the
University of Wales in 1893, with the colleges becoming members of the new university. The position of operational head would rotate among heads of the colleges.
In 1885,
Aberdare Hall opened as the first hall of residence, allowing women access to the college. This moved to its current site in 1895, but remains a single-sex hall. In 1904 the college appointed the first female associate professor in the UK,
Millicent Mackenzie, who in 1910 became the first female full professor at a fully chartered UK university.
In 1901, John Viriamu Jones persuaded Cardiff Corporation to give the college a five-acre site in
Cathays Park (instead of selling it as they would have done otherwise). Soon after, in 1905, work on a new building commenced under the architect
W. D. Caröe. Money ran short for the project, however, and although the side-wings were completed in the 1960s the planned
great hall was never built. Caroe sought to combine the charm and elegance of his ''alma mater'' (
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
) with the picturesque balance of many
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
colleges. On 14 October 1909 the "New College" building in Cathays Park (now Main Building) and the "Drapers' Library" (now the Science Library) was opened in a ceremony involving a procession from the "Old College" in Newport Road.
In 1931, the medical school, founded as part of the college in 1893 along with the departments of anatomy, physiology, pathology and pharmacology, was split off to form the Welsh National School of Medicine, renamed the
University of Wales College of Medicine in 1984.
The University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire was renamed University College, Cardiff in 1972.
1988 merger
In 1988, University College Cardiff ran into financial difficulties and a declaration of insolvency was considered. This led to a merger with the
University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) to form the University of Wales College of Cardiff. The principal of the new institution was
Sir Aubrey Trotman-Dickenson, who had been the principal of UWIST. After changes to the constitution in 1996, its name was changed to the University of Wales, Cardiff.
In the early 1990s, the university's computer systems served as the home for
The Internet Movie Database.
Independence and 2004 merger

The college was granted degree-awarding powers by the
Privy Council in 1997 although, as a member of the University of Wales, it did not use them at that time. In 1999, the
public name of the university was changed to Cardiff University.
In 2002, ideas were floated to re-merge Cardiff with the
University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM), after the publication of the
Welsh Assembly Government's review of higher education in Wales. This set in train a series of constitutional reforms. On 1 August 2004, Cardiff University ceased to be a member of the University of Wales and became an independent "link institution" affiliated to the federal university. The process of the merger with UWCM was completed on 1 December 2004, when the
Act of Parliament transferring UWCM's assets to Cardiff University received royal assent. On 17 December it was announced that the
Privy Council had given approval to a new supplemental charter for the keys institution. This was sealed on 11 March 2005, granting university status to Cardiff and legally changing the name of the institution to Cardiff University. Cardiff awarded University of Wales degrees to students admitted before 2005, but has subsequently awarded its own degrees.

In 2005, Wales College of Medicine, as part of the university, launched the North Wales Clinical School in
Wrexham, in collaboration with the
North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in Wrexham, the
University of Wales, Bangor, and the
National Health Service in Wales. This received funds of £12.5 million from the
Welsh Assembly and trebled the number of trainee doctors in clinical training in Wales over a four-year period.
The university also has a Centre for
Lifelong Learning, which has been teaching a wide range of courses for over 125 years. However, in July 2009, the university announced it was ending over 250 humanities courses at the centre, making over 100 staff redundant. The university has since reintroduced a number of humanities courses for a trial period beginning in 2010.
In June 2010, the university launched three new research institutes, each offering a new approach to a major modern research issue. The Neurosciences and Mental Health Research Institute and the Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute are housed in the purpose-built
Hadyn Ellis Building and in the Sustainable Places Research Institute. Another part of the Science and Development Campus, the
Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), opened in June 2016 for
neuroimaging
Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the neuroanatomy, structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive ...
research.
Workload controversy
On 19 February 2018, Malcolm Anderson, a university lecturer committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
at age 48 by jumping off a university building.
The inquiry determined that Anderson's suicide was the result of a high-pressure workload.
In 2020, Grace Krause, a PhD student employed at Cardiff University started experiencing
headaches and
back pain after lengthy work at a computer.
She
tweeted that "Staff are marking hundreds of essays in an impossibly short time. It is exhausting. Everyone is in crisis mode. Stressed, moody, morose, everyone feels like they’re drowning."
Soon after, an email from the university was sent to all PhD students asking for these comments to be deleted, in order to avoid negative media attention, which sparked a debate about
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
between employers and employees.
2025 cost-cutting measures
Cardiff University announced in January 2025 that it had an operating deficit of £31.2 million for 2023–24 and announced a three-month consultation on plans to reduce its academic workforce by approximately 400 full-time equivalent positions, representing around 7 per cent of its total staff, as well as discontinuing programs in ancient history, modern languages and translation, music, nursing, and religion and theology, and merging other academic departments.
The Arts and Humanities are expected to suffer most severely, with the remaining workforce to be reduced by approximately 120 full-time equivalent positions, which is around half. The university had around £500 million in unrestricted reserves according to its accounts for 2023–24, which the
Universities and Colleges Union said should be partially used to give a longer period for the university's finances to recover. However, the university said that "unrestricted reserves" was not the same as cash available to spend. The university's accounts contain the statement that "Of the University’s £426m of cash and investments as at 31 July 2024, £41m is freely available to spend." A document circulated internally but leaked to the press revealed that further job losses in non-academic staff were expected on top of the 400 academic staff posts and outlined plans for a smaller but higher-quality student intake in future. It also revealed that the projected deficit for 2024–25, if no action was taken, was £65 million, double the deficit for 2023–24, with the cuts designed to reduce the deficit to £28 million.
In May, the university announced that it would reduce the impact of its cuts by continuing to offer some courses that were previously due to be cancelled, including Nursing, Music, and Modern Languages. The university also agreed to not make any compulsory redundancies in 2025, following a deal with the UCU to drop plans industrial action in the summer.
The university's deficit is part of the wider financial challenges in the UK higher education sector, where universities are facing budget deficits due to factors such as tuition fee caps, rising operational costs, and fluctuations in student enrolment. Other institutions, have also announced staff reductions and course closures. The proposed cuts at Cardiff also led to protests at the
Senedd, where the
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
said that there was no more money available for higher education despite universities across Wales suffering financial crises and implementing job cuts and campus closures.
Vice chancellors and principals
List of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of Cardiff University and its predecessors (shown in brackets):
*1883–1901 (University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire):
John Viriamu Jones
*1901–1918 (University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire):
Ernest Howard Griffiths
*1918–1929 (University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire): A.H. Trow
*1929–1949 (University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire):
Frederick Rees
*1949–1966 (University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire):
Anthony Steel
*1966–1972 (University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire):
C. W. L. Bevan
*1972–1987 (University College Cardiff):
C. W. L. Bevan
*1968–1988 (University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology):
Sir Aubrey Trotman-Dickenson
*1988–1993:
Aubrey Trotman-Dickenson
*1993–2001:
Brian Smith
*2001–2012:
David Grant
*2012–2023:
Colin Riordan
*2023–present:
Wendy Larner
Campus
Academic facilities

The university's academic facilities are centred around
Cathays Park in central Cardiff, which contains the university's grade II*
listed main building, housing administrative facilities and the science library, previously called the Drapers' library;
the grade II listed
Bute building, which contains the
Welsh School of Architecture,
the grade I listed
Glamorgan building, which houses the Cardiff Schools of Planning and Geography and Social Sciences,
the
Redwood Building (named in 1979 after the Redwood Family of Boverton near Llantwit Major by a 1978 suggestion by J. D. R. Thomas), which houses the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences;
the law building which houses the
Cardiff Law School;
and the biosciences building, which provides facilities for both biosciences and medical teaching.
The
School of Engineering and School of Physics and Astronomy are located in the Queen's Buildings, off Newport Road, the Schools of Computer Science of Informatics and Mathematics at the Abacws Building, and the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at 2 Central Square.
A number of university academic facilities are located at the Heath Park campus, based at the
University Hospital of Wales. This covers the
Cardiff University School of Medicine, the School of Dentistry, the School of Healthcare Sciences, and the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences.
Athletics facilities
Most of the university's sports facilities are located at the sports training village in the Talybont Halls complex. This includes facilities for football, badminton, basketball, tennis, hockey and gym.
Additional gym facilities and squash courts are located at the university fitness and squash centre, near the city centre campus at
Cathays Park.
Extensive playing fields for
Rugby, football and
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
are located at the university playing fields near
Llanrumney.
The university also utilises the nearby
Millennium Stadium for rugby fixtures such as the annual varsity tournament.
Organisation
Schools and colleges
The 26 academic schools of the university are divided into three colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; and Physical Sciences.
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
*
Business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
*English, Communication and Philosophy
*Geography and Planning
*History, Archaeology and Religion
*
Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies
*
Law and Politics
*Modern Languages
*
Music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
*Social Sciences
*Welsh
College of Biomedical and Life Sciences
*Biosciences
*Dentistry
*Healthcare Sciences
*
Medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
*Optometry and Vision Sciences
*Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
*Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (Wales Deanery)
*Psychology
College of Physical Sciences and Engineering
*
Architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
*Chemistry
*Computer Science & Informatics
*Earth and Environmental Sciences
*Engineering
*Mathematics
*Physics and Astronomy
Cardiff also has a Doctoral Academy, that brings together the work of four previous discipline-based Graduate Schools and the postgraduate research activity of the university's Graduate Centre.
Finances
In the financial year ending 31 July 2024, Cardiff had a total income of £638 million (2022/23 – £627.2 million) and total expenditure of £500.4 million (2022/23 – £603 million).
Key sources of income included £328.3 million from tuition fees and education contracts (2022/23 – £310.6 million), £83.2 million from funding body grants (2022/23 – £90.2 million), £126.6 million from research grants and contracts (2022/23 – £133.6 million), £11.5 million from investment income (2022/23 – £9.6 million) and £4.5 million from donations and endowments (2022/23 – £1.4 million).
At year end, Cardiff had endowments of £53.1 million (2023 – £46.2 million) and total net assets of £852.6 million (2023 – £679 million).
Academic profile
Rankings and reputation
Cardiff University is a highly renowned for several subjects in its department.
Cardiff has produced two Nobel Laureates on its staff, Sir
Martin Evans and
Robert Huber. A number of Cardiff University staff have been elected as
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
, these include
Graham Hutchings FRS, professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry,
Ole Holger Petersen, MRC Professor and Director of Cardiff School of Biosciences. and
John M. Pearce, Professor of Psychology.
In 2013, Cardiff University was ranked as one of the best UK universities for supporting
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
students, by the charity
Stonewall in its annual ''Gay by Degree'' guide. The university was one of only two in the UK and the only one in Wales to achieve top marks in a Stonewall checklist of priorities for LGBT+ students.
Cardiff University was ranked joint 168th in Best Global Universities by
US News in 2021. It was ranked 164th among universities around the world by
SCImago Institutions Rankings in 2021. The Round University Rankings ranked Cardiff University 162nd globally in 2021. The Center for World University Rankings listed Cardiff University 159th in the world in 2021.
According to QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2021, Cardiff University ranked within the world's top 50 universities in communication and media studies (28), in Architecture and Built environment (37) and Psychology (59).
Other subjects ranked within the top 100 are dentistry, and mineral and mining engineering (49) civil and structural engineering, geography, social policy and administration, pharmacy and pharmacology, English language and literature, and sociology.
Admissions
According to the 2017 ''Times'' and ''Sunday Times'' Good University Guide, approximately 15 per cent of Cardiff's undergraduates come from independent schools.
In the 2016–2017 academic year, the university had a domicile breakdown of 76:5:19 of UK:EU:non-EU students respectively with a female to male ratio of 59:41.
Student life
Student accommodation
The university maintains 15 student halls and a number of student houses throughout the city of Cardiff; providing a total of 5,362 student places in accommodation.
They are in a variety of architectural styles and ages, from the
Gothic Aberdare Hall, built in 1895, to the modern Talybont Gate Building, completed in 2014. All first-year students are guaranteed a place in university owned and managed halls.
The Cardiff University Halls are:
*Aberconway Hall
*
Aberdare Hall
*Cartwright Court
*Clodien House
*Colum Hall
*Hodge Hall
*Gordon Hall
*Roy Jenkins Hall
*Senghennydd Court
*Senghennydd Hall
*The Talybont 'Student Village' (Including Talybont North, South, Court and Gate Halls)
*University Hall
*Houses in Colum Road and Colum Place
*Student Village Houses
Students' Union
The
Cardiff University Students' Union is a student-run organisation aiming to promote student interests within the university and further afield. The Cardiff University Students' Union building is near
Cathays Park, next to
Cathays railway station. It has shops, a night club and the studios of
Xpress Radio and
Gair Rhydd, the student newspaper. It is democratically controlled by the student body through the election of seven full-time officers, who manage the running of the Union.
The Union provides a range of services, including a number of cafes, bars and shops, as well as advice, training and representation. The Union is an affiliated member of the
National Union of Students.
Groups and societies
The students' union supports over 200 societies across a wide range of interests
as well as 70 sports clubs through the athletic union.
Student activism
Student activism at Cardiff University has included protests about the university's investments in arms companies in 2009, as part of a larger student movement in the UK at that time,
and participating in the
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.
An encampment was established outside the Cardiff University Main Building on 14 May 2024 by students from Cardiff University,
Cardiff Metropolitan University, the
University of South Wales and the
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, joining the Cymru Students For Palestine umbrella group that also included protestors at
Swansea University and
Bangor University.
The encampment dispersed on 17 July 2024 after the university confirmed that it already met some demands and committed to address some of the others.
Media

The Union provides facilities and support for several student media groups, including: ''
Gair Rhydd'', an award-winning, free student newspaper that is released every Monday of term;
''Quench'', a monthly arts and lifestyle magazine that specialises in the local music scene as well as original investigative feature articles;
and CUTV, the student television channel.
Xpress Radio is the
student radio station. It broadcasts daily during term from studios in the Students' Union building, with programming such as comedy panel shows, new music showcases, local music showcases, and film reviews.
Athletics

The Cardiff University Athletic Union is the body that supports student sport at Cardiff, it oversees more than 60 competitive and non-competitive sports clubs, many of which compete in the
British Universities and Colleges Sport
British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS; ) is the sports governing body, governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 2008, BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United King ...
league.
The university's
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team, the Cardiff Redhawks (which also recruits players from other Welsh universities) competes in the
British Universities Ice Hockey Association leagues.
The university's sports teams also take part in the annual
Welsh Varsity against
Swansea University, which includes
the Welsh Boat Race, and several other sporting competitions.
The Welsh Varsity rugby match has been described as "probably... the second biggest Varsity Game next to Oxford vs Cambridge".
Cardiff participates in British Universities and Colleges Sport which manages a sporting framework of competitive fixtures and events for over 150 institutions around the UK. Cardiff registers nearly 100 teams in the various leagues and competitions each year and sees students travelling around the country to represent Cardiff University. In 2013 Cardiff team achieved 15th position overall across the 50 different sports hosting events.
Insignia and other representations
Motto
Cardiff University's motto is ''Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord''. The
Welsh motto translates as ''Truth, Unity and Concord'' or ''Truth, Unity and Harmony''. It is taken from the prayer for the
Church militant as it appears in the
1662 ''Book of Common Prayer''.
Coat of arms
Cardiff University's current
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
was granted by the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
in 1988 following the merger of University College Cardiff and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology.
The coat of arms incorporates features from the
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
of both former institutions. The three
chevrons are derived from the arms of the
de Clare lords of Glamorgan. The open book signifies learning; on it are the
crescent and
annulet,
marks of cadence that indicate that University College Cardiff was the second of the University of Wales' institutions, and that the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology was the fifth.
A notable feature of the arms are the
supporters, which in heraldry are rarely granted to universities. The supporters are an angel from University College Cardiff and a
Welsh Dragon from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. The
crest is a Welsh dragon in the stance of a lion; it stands on the
helmet. Both the dragon and the helmet are distinguished by being front-facing rather than in profile as is more usually found in
Welsh heraldry.
Notable alumni and academics
Heads of state and government
*
Barham Salih, President of Iraq, former prime minister of the
Iraqi Kurdistan Region and former deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government
*
Faisal Al-Fayez, Prime Minister of Jordan
*
Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales
*
Vaughan Gething, First Minister of Wales
Politics

*
Lord Jenkins, former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
,
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
,
President of the European Commission and Chancellor of the University of Oxford (did not graduate)
*
Rhun ap Iorwerth, MS and leader of
Plaid Cymru
*
David Bahati, State Minister of Finance for Planning in the
Cabinet of Uganda
*
Jeffrey Cuthbert,
Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner, MS for
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain.
It is north of Cardiff an ...
and Welsh Government Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty
*
Wayne David, MP for
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain.
It is north of Cardiff an ...
and UK Shadow
Minister for Europe, Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement and Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces
*
Elin Jones, MS for
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
,
Llywydd of the Senedd and former Welsh Government Minister for Rural Affairs
*
Fatou Sanyang Kinteh, Gambian Minister for Women's Affairs, Children and Social Welfare
*
Glenys Kinnock,
MEP and
UK Foreign Office Minister
*
Neil Kinnock, MP for
Bedwellty and for
Islwyn,
Leader of the Labour Party,
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
*
Sajjad Gani Lone, Indian politician and president of the
Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference
*
Hilary Marquand, MP for
Cardiff East and Minister for Health.
*
Robert Minhinnick, co-founder of
Friends of the Earth (Cymru)
*
Adam Price, MS and former leader of Plaid Cymru
*
David Rees, MS for
Aberavon and Deputy Presiding Officer of the Senedd Cymru.
*
Brian Wilson, MP for
Cunninghame North and Minister of State.
Academia

*
Martin J. Ball, emeritus Professor of Linguistics at
Bangor University, Cymru/Wales
*
Paul E. A. Barbier
Paul Emile Auguste Barbier (1873–1947) was Professor of French at the University of Leeds 1903–38; he is noted for his work on French lexicography and his promotion of Celtic studies, Celtic Studies.
Early and family life
Paul E. A. Barbier's ...
, Professor of French at the
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
*
Jason Barker, professor
*
Yehuda Bauer
Yehuda Bauer (; 6 April 1926 – 18 October 2024) was a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the The Holocaust, Holocaust. He was a professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew Univer ...
, Professor of Holocaust Studies at the
Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
*
Leszek Borysiewicz,
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
*
Archie Cochrane, pioneer of scientific method in medicine
*
Peter Coles, Professor of
Astrophysics
*
Martin Evans,
Nobel Prize for Medicine 2007
*
John S. Fossey, Professor of synthetic chemistry at the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
*
Burt Goldberg, university professor, microbiologist
*
Robert Huber, Professor of
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 1988
*
John Loughlin, Professor of Politics
*
Vaughan Lowe,
Chichele Professor of Public International Law in the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
*
Patrick Minford, Professor of Applied Economics
*
John Warwick Montgomery – American lawyer and theologian; Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought at
Patrick Henry College.
*
Keith Peters,
Regius Professor of Physic in the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
*
Leighton Durham Reynolds, emeritus Professor of Classical Languages and Literature,
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
*
H. W. Lloyd Tanner, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1883–1909)
*
Pamela Taylor, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry since 2004
*
Keith Ward, philosopher,
Gresham Professor of Divinity,
Gresham College
*
Chandra Wickramasinghe, mathematician, astronomer and astrobiologist, Professor of Applied Mathematics
*
Rheinallt Nantlais Williams, professor of the philosophy of religion, principal of the
United Theological College, Aberystwyth
Business
*
Spencer Dale, Chief economist,
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
*
Andrew Gould, chairman and former CEO,
Schlumberger
*
Philip Jansen, CEO,
BT Group
*
Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder,
Specsavers
*
John Pettigrew (businessman), CEO,
National Grid plc
*
Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO,
Baker Hughes Company
Religion
*
Phil Ashey,
Bishop of Western Anglicans
*
Gregory Cameron,
Bishop of St Asaph
*
Paul Colton,
Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
*
Dominic Walker,
Bishop of Monmouth
Sport
*
Nathan Cleverly, professional boxer and former
WBO light heavyweight
Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight.
The light heavyweight class has ...
world champion
*
Gareth Davies, former
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
international rugby union player, and former chief executive of
Cardiff Rugby Football Club
*
Gerald Davies, former
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
international rugby union player
*
Alex Gough, Squash player
*
Mike Hall, former Wales and British and Irish Lions international rugby union player
*
Heather Knight, English cricketer
*
Steven Outerbridge, Bermudian
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er
*
Jamie Roberts,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
international
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player
*
James Tomlinson, English cricketer
*
Bradley Wadlan, Welsh cricketer
Arts and journalism

*
Paul Atherton, television and film producer and director
*
Matt Barbet, journalist and television presenter
*
Manish Bhasin, journalist and television presenter
*
Nick Broomfield, documentary filmmaker and receiver of the
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Documentary
*
Philip Cashian, composer
*
Suw Charman-Anderson, journalist and
social software consultant.
*
Adrian Chiles, television presenter
*
Gillian Clarke, poet and receiver of the Queen's gold medal for Poetry
*
Huw Edwards, journalist and BBC newsreader
*
Ken Elias, artist and painter
*
Brian J. Ford, author, scientist and broadcaster
*
Max Foster, anchor of ''
CNN Today''
*
M. A. Griffiths, poet
*
Julia Hartley-Brewer, journalist and television presenter
*
Jiang Heping, executive director of the
CCTV Sports Programming Centre and Controller of
CCTV-5
*
Tim Hetherington, photo-journalist and co-director of Academy Award-nominated ''
Restrepo''
*
Elis James, stand-up comedian and actor
*
Alun Hoddinott, composer
*
Sioned James (1974–2016), choral conductor
*
Karl Jenkins, composer
*
Alan Johnston, journalist
*
Riz Khan, journalist and television interviewer
*
Bernard Knight, crime writer
*
Simon Lane, co-founder and
Creative director
A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
of
The Yogscast Ltd
*
Gwilym Lee, actor
*
Siân Lloyd, television presenter
*
Los Campesinos!, six piece indie pop band
*
Philip Madoc, actor
*
Paul Moorcraft, writer
*
Sharon Morgan, actress
*
Joanna Natasegara, documentary producer, Academy Award winner for Netflix documentary ''
The White Helmets''
*
Siân Phillips, actress
*
Susanna Reid, journalist and television presenter
*
James Righton, musician
*
Leo Rowlands, Welsh musical composer, Catholic priest
*
Arlene Sierra, composer
*
Ron Smerczak actor
*
Mari Strachan, novelist and librarian
*
Richard Tait, former BBC governor and BBC
trustee
*
Matt Taylor, BBC Weather Presenter
*
Craig Thomas, author
*
Alex Thomson, journalist and television presenter
*
Vedhicka, Indian actress
*
Grace Williams
Grace Mary Williams (19 February 1906 – 10 February 1977) was a Welsh composer, generally regarded as Wales's most notable female composer, and the first British woman to score a feature film.
Early life
Williams was born in Barry, Vale o ...
, composer
Law and Justice
*
Victoria Starmer, former solicitor for
Hodge Jones & Allen, wife of Sir
Keir Starmer
See also
*
Armorial of UK universities
*
College of advanced technology (United Kingdom)
*
Education in Wales
*
List of universities in Wales
*
List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
*
List of UK universities
*
Town and gown
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Cathays
Dental schools in Wales
Education in Cardiff
Universities and colleges established in 1883
Russell Group
Universities UK
1883 establishments in Wales