About Us

The University of South Wales (USW) is one of Britain’s most exciting and ambitious universities. Innovative, thriving and sustainable, we work to build better futures for our students, our communities and our partners economically, socially and culturally.  

USW places engagement, collaboration, and partnership working at the heart of everything we do, working alongside business, industry, and the social economy, to address identified needs and achieve the best outcomes for individual learners and organisations. We work in collaboration with industry, researching and innovating to tackle some of the biggest global challenges, from energy and health to security and sustainability. 

USW is a vocationally-focused university, preparing students to support key industries now, and in the future. Employers work closely with USW to co-create curriculum that supports their future needs. This provides them with a skilled and relevant workforce that they can rely on with a large pipeline of graduates coming out of USW and our partner institutions each year. We are generating the workforce that employers tell us they want and need. 

We are a multi-disciplinary university with a strong track record for our partnerships, widening access,  and student success, with almost half of students at USW coming from areas within the bottom two quintiles of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) - significantly above above average for higher education institutions in Wales and the UK.

With three campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd, we are well placed for our staff and students to enjoy all that South Wales has to offer. We also provide a range of inclusive study pathways, supporting life-long learning and flexible options for our students. We work closely with our partner colleges, and have two wholly owned subsidiaries, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The College Merthyr Tydfil.