Aberystwyth University (Welsh: Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a public research university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. There are over 7,500 students in the University’s three main faculties of arts, social science and the sciences.

Founded in 1872 as University College Wales, Aberystwyth it became a founder member of the University of Wales in 1894 and changed its name to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. In the mid-1990s, the university again changed its name to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. On 1 September 2007, the University of Wales ceased to be a federal university and Aberystwyth became independent again.

Aberystwyth University was ranked between the 601-650 bracket in the world by the QS World University Rankings. The Guardian University League Table 2015 ranks Aberystwyth 106th out of 116 UK universities, the 2014 table having ranked it 88th in the UK. The Complete University Guide’s 2015 table ranks Aberystwyth 87th out of 123 British universities,

History

The University was founded in 1872 as University College Wales. The first Principal was Thomas Charles Edwards and initially there were 26 students. Before 1894, when the college joined the University of Wales as a founder member, students were submitted for examinations to the University of London.Women were admitted in 1884.

In 1885, after a fire in what is now known as Old College, Mr. Stuart Rendell purchased the Gogerddan Estate on Penglais and donated it to the University. It became the location of Penglais Campus, the University’s principal campus.. On June 26, 1896 the Prince of Wales was installed as Chancellor, and that same year Britain’s Prime Minister Gladstone was awarded an honorary degree.

The university’s coat of arms was awarded in the 1880s. The shield features two red dragons, symbolising Wales, and an open book, symbolising learning. The crest is an eagle or phoenix above a flaming tower; it may symbolise the College’s rebirth after the 1885 fire. The motto is Nid Byd, Byd Heb Wybodaeth (a world without knowledge is no world at all).

In the early 1900s the University expanded in subjects that included Law, Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, and Botany. The Department for International Politics, which Aberystwyth says is the oldest such department in the world, was founded in 1919.

The Department of Sports and Exercise Science was established in 2000. Joint honours Psychology degrees were introduced in September 2007, and single honours Psychology in 2009.

The university appointed a new vice chancellor in 2011 who has now initiated a complete restructure of academic departments into larger subject-themed institutes.

Organisation and administration

Departments and Institutes