Cardiff University

Cardiff University, institution of higher education in the city of Cardiff, and the largest university in Wales. The University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire was founded in 1883, and became part of the University of Wales when that institution was created in 1893. It merged with the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology in 1988, forming the University of Wales College of Cardiff. With the addition of the University of Wales College of Medicine in 2004, the institution was awarded official university status later that year.

The university has around 20,000 undergraduate and 5,000 postgraduate students (2006) studying at its two academic colleges: the Wales College of Medicine, Biology, and Life and Health Sciences, and the College of Humanities and Sciences. Some undergraduate courses in medicine, dentistry, and related subjects still lead to University of Wales, rather than Cardiff University, degrees. In total the two colleges cover 28 academic schools and 4 graduate schools. The university is governed by a chancellor, with a council, senate, and university court.

In recent years there has been extensive investment in the estate, including new student residences, new teaching centres, and the completion of an engineering, physics, and computing complex. The Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning, the largest provider of adult education in Wales, offers around 500 courses annually.