The University of Glamorgan (Welsh: Prifysgol Morgannwg) was a university based in South Wales prior to the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf with campuses in Trefforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern (The Glamorgan Sport Park) and Cardiff. The university had four faculties, and was the only university in Wales which had no link with the University of Wales.

History

The University of Glamorgan was founded in 1913 as a School of Mines based in Trefforest, Pontypridd, serving the large coal mining industry in the South Wales Valleys.^[3] The school was owned and funded by the major Welsh coal owners, through a levy of one tenth of a penny on each ton of coal produced by the companies involved. At the outset, the school had 17 mining diploma students, including three from China. The school was taken over by Glamorgan County Council during the Depression, and became Glamorgan Technical College in 1949, reflecting its expanding portfolio, and the Glamorgan College of Technology in 1958. By this time, the institution had expanded to offer a range of full-time, sandwich and part-time courses in science, technology and commerce, to which it added the first ever “Welsh for Adults” course in 1967. In 1970, the college became a polytechnic.^[4] Glamorgan Polytechnic merged with the Glamorgan College of Education in Barry and was re-designated as the Polytechnic of Wales in 1975, before being awarded university status as the University of Glamorgan in 1992

Between 2003 and the merger, the University had been engaged in an active “growth strategy”, merging with Merthyr Tydfil College in 2004/5 and forming a “strategic alliance” with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2006, so that the Royal College became part of the ‘Glamorgan Group’ of institutions. In 2007, “ATRiuM”, a new facility for teaching and research in media, design and the arts was opened in Cardiff city centre. A new Students’ Union building at the Treforest Campus was opened in September 2010.

The University at the time of the merger served around 21,500 students, with 10,227 registered as full-time undergraduates.^[7] The university offered around 200 courses and in 2009 claimed to have one of the highest graduate employment rates in Wales, reporting that 94.3% of 2007-08 graduates found employment within six months of graduation.

Academic rankings

The last rankings showed that the University of Glamorgan was rated the top “new” university in Wales, and one of the top five Welsh universities, by the Sunday Times.

In November 2012, the University of Glamorgan was awarded the Times Higher Education award for “Outstanding Support for Students”.

Reputation

The bulk of full-time students entered through the UCAS system with A-levels or equivalent qualifications and many of the University’s degree courses are selective in that they require specific A-levels or above average grades for entry.^{[citation needed]}

• A Next Generation Networks, IMS Experience Lab
• One of only 20 UK business schools to get an ‘excellent ratings’ from the government.
• Centre of Excellence in Mobile Applications and Services (CEMAS).
• Research in biohydrogen production and wastewater treatment.
• The first university in Wales to be awarded the Environmental ISO 14001.
• The University of Glamorgan, with Cardiff University and South Wales Police, forms the Universities Police Science Institute (UPSI) – a unique organisation in the UK dedicated to research and training in police related matters. Specialists in police and forensic related matters are organised within the Glamorgan Centre for Police Sciences.^{[citation needed]}The University has its own Crime Scenes Investigation House.
• A £35 million (€46.7 million or $68.6 million) investment in the city of Cardiff, completed in 2007, houses the Atrium.
• The University, along with Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities is part of the St David’s Day Group, which is dedicated to acting together drive forward the knowledge economy in Wales.
• Glamorgan, in partnership with the University of Wales Newport, is leading the development of the University of the Heads of the Valleys Initiative (UHOVI)

In July 2012 the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport announced that they had begun talks aimed at integrating the two institutions.

On 17 December 2012 it was announced that the name for the new university is the University of South Wales.

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