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Swansea University Mini-Guide

A bustling, modern city with a buzzing nightlife and sea views ...Somewhere you want to spend the next three years?

Swansea offers a stunning university experience with its fantastic location, academic prowess and buzzing nightlife, and was voted the “UK’s Best Student Experience” in the 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement Award. Swansea has consistently held a place in the top 20 in surveys and league tables taken across UK universities for high teaching quality and student satisfaction.

Academically, Swansea is a great choice. It has an impressive teaching reputation, and 92% of the faculty are also actively involved in research. The university has a large range of courses too, with over 500 undergraduates courses and 130 postgraduate courses, over a breadth of subjects.

Location

Swansea University is set in a fantastic location, between the vibrant, modern city-centre, with the only Blue Flag Marina in Wales, and the Gower Peninsula, Europe’s first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The University itself is only a stone’s throw from the beach, and is nearer to the beach than any European university. With city convenience and beach beauty, Swansea has it all.

Campus Life

You’ll find everything you need for student life on campus, with its own bar, cafes and nightclub; large library and information centre, wireless internet access and even a GP’s surgery and dental surgery.

The campus is also home to the Taliesin Arts Centre and an impressive Sport Centre, which incorporates Wales National Pool, a state-of-the-art 50m Olympic swimming sized pool.

Student Support

Each student is assigned a personal tutor who can lend a listening ear and offer direction throughout your student life. There is also the Students’ Union Advice Centre for pastoral support as well as Student Support Services which offers support from the Disability Office, Student Financial Aid/Money Advice Office, International Student Advisory Service and the Student Counseling Service.

Nightlife

City nightlife is great, with a mix of well known chain bars and clubs as well as some fantastic independent bars. A night out in Swansea could mean anything from the latest club anthems on a packed dance floor to live music from a local band in a more intimate setting. See our Nightlife Guide for more information.

Out of hours

There’s plenty to get involved in and places to make your mark with a diverse span of societies, sports clubs, and one of the longest running student radio stations in the UK.

With the Gower Peninsula on the doorstep offering some of the best surf in the country, it’s the perfect location for surfers, and is a stunning place

Accommodation

Accommodation can be found in the private sector or in the University accommodation comprising of halls of residence on campus or at the Student Village a short bus ride away.

Halls of residence on campus at Singleton have the convenience of being close to the academic and social life of the campus. Study-bedrooms are grouped together in flats with shared bedrooms, and are either part-catered or self-catered. Facilities include wireless internet, phones in study-bedrooms, launderette, bar, cafeteria, shop and doctors surgery, but there are no car parking facilities here.

Two and a half miles from campus is Hendrefoelan Student Village, offering accommodation in flats with shared kitchens and bathrooms. Facilities on site include wireless internet, phones in study bedrooms, car parking, launderette, bar, shop and Unibus service.

Quiet Student and family accommodation is available in the renovated Ty Beck House in the Uplands area of Swansea, which offers en suite flats with shared kitchen-diners for single students, and separate blocks for families.

There are also a number of University-managed properties, where students can share a house that the university manages on behalf of a private landlord.

What are you waiting for?

Swansea University offers a fantastic student experience, from the lecture hall to the dance floor; the Fresher’s Fayre to Graduation Ball. But don’t take our word for it; come and see for yourself!

For a glimpse of what life at Swansea University is really like, catch up with three students in our Student Profiles.

Student Profiles

The Undergraduate

Q.Best thing about studying in Swansea?
A.The beaches! There’s lots to do, especially in good weather and has a really good atmosphere.

Q.How did you end up here?
A.I really liked the location when I came to visit and the course seemed really impressive. I applied in 6th form and deferred my entry, then came here after a year of touring in a band going into schools to do youth work.

Q.Have you enjoyed your time here?
A.I’ve really enjoyed the area as a whole. A lot students don’t see much of Swansea besides the city centre, but I’ve really enjoyed the Gower and Mumbles. The Welsh people are really friendly and it will be sad to leave a place I’ve spent so much time in and made my home.

Q.Have you enjoyed the course?
A.I really enjoyed the English aspect of the course. The media side of things wasn’t so good and was much less hands-on than it appeared.

Q.What’s the nightlife like?
A.There’s a good student scene on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday. I’d never go into to town on a Friday or Saturday night, but student nights have a really good atmosphere. I’ve seen some good acts here - Lemar was the best, but East 17 and Alan Fletcher (aka Karl Kennedy in Neighbours) have played here too!

Q.How easy is it to make friends?
A.Getting on well with people in halls provides you with an automatic circle of friends. There are loads of societies and clubs which are a great way to meet people, as well as on your course.

Q.What do you want to do with your degree?
A.Ultimately I’d like to go into music journalism or reviewing.

Q.Did you find lots to get involved in outside of lectures and work?
A.There are loads of opportunities to get involved in things. Fresher’s Fayre is great for finding out about societies. There’s something for every interest from yoga to Italian. There’s also the radio station and Waterfront magazine you can get involved in.

Q.What’s the best way to handle stress and deadlines?
A.Don’t leave it until the last minute - books go quite quickly from the library. Plan, do a bit every day, and GET A DIARY!

Q.What next?
A.I’m going to the Academy of Contemporary Music to do a Higher Diploma in vocals, and then get as much work experience as possible. So many people have degrees, it's so important to build your CV.

The Post-Grad

Q.What made you want to study at Swansea University?
A.My undergraduate days were very exciting; meeting new people, facing new challenges every day, but the whole time I realised that deep down I am a Welshman and Swansea is my home. Fortunately, many of my academic interests as an undergraduate are research strengths at Swansea University so academically the move here made a lot of sense.

Q.What was your degree in and where did you do it?
A.I studied Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Q.How is being a post-grad different to being an undergrad?
A.Postgraduate study feels very much like a stepping stone between student life and 'the real world'. On the one hand, you still have a lot of the freedom and flexibility of student life but also have a supervisor to report to (much like your boss in work) and you can potentially receive a relatively significant bursary.

Q.Any advice to would-be post grads?
A.Make sure that you work consistently from the beginning. It’s very tempting to take it easy in your first year since writing your thesis seems a long way off. But most of all, find a topic to study that genuinely interests you, and enjoy yourself!

The International Student

Q.Why did you come to study at Swansea in particular?
A.I liked the idea of studying in Wales as opposed to England; it seemed a bit more unusual, which is fun. Combined with the beach and a good faculty for what I study, it was a perfect fit!

Q.Have you found the course and the opportunities everything you expected?
A.And more! I was warned about the weather in advance, so I can't really complain about that. The faculty has been fantastic and living near the beach in Wales is a blast!

Q.How have you funded your stay here?
A.Independent work and savings, and some scholarship.

Q.How did you find your accommodation?
A.Through the University.

Q.Best thing about being here?
A.The fun of living in another country.

Q.Worst thing about being here?
A.Lots of rain and short days in the winter.

Q.What on thing has been a lifesaver during your time here?
A.To be honest, Skype (free internet phone service - check out www.skype.com) has made it so easy to be in touch with friends and family back home. I can't imagine how different things would have been if hadn't been able to maintain my ties to friends back in the States.

Q.How is Swansea/Wales different to home?
A.The pace is slower. It still strikes me as novel when nothing is open on Sundays. Maybe it’s the beach, maybe it’s Wales, but it’s a great lifestyle.

Q.Top tips for international students?
A.Try to do things other than just study. I got a job, and made a lot friends that way, and played football on an intramural team (a bad one, but that's not the point) and managed to make a lot of friends down at the local pub. Putting yourself in different circles makes for a richer stay.

www.swansea-union.co.uk
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
www.society.swan.ac.uk
www.xtremeradio.org

_{Photos on this page have been taken by the following:Debbie Hopkins}, _{Benjamin Stanton},_{Margaret Darms}, _jez92