SWANSEA, A CITY OF CONTRASTS

Modern and cosmopolitan with its waterfront development, café quarters and thriving student population, Swansea is also Dylan Thomas country, steeped in tradition, culture and character.

Living in Swansea brings you all the benefits of city life, the advantages of living by the sea, and a sense of community that you'll notice the moment you arrive.

You'll find that Swansea is a friendly, relaxed, yet vibrant city. New landmark developments, including Wales' tallest building, give the place a real sense of purpose and vision, whilst the stunning scenery of the surrounding area means that you will be studying in one of the UK's most beautiful locations. It's no wonder many of our graduates choose to stay here long after their studies.

Whether you're living on or off campus, you're always within easy reach of the City's great leisure facilities and buzzing nightlife. Choose from a variety of pubs, clubs and bars on Swansea's famous Wind Street, enjoy the atmosphere in the City's £6 million leisure complex Oceana, or soak up a more earthy vibe in one of the many excellent live music venues - you'll soon feel a part of Swansea's social scene. For leisure and entertainment, local venues include the LC2,home to the Boardrider, the world's first deep water standingwave machine. The 20,000+ seat Liberty Stadium is home to professional football and rugby in the City, and also hosts major pop and rock concerts. And ifyou love film, look no further than Swansea's state-of-the-art 12-screen Vue cinema and the Odeon Cinema complex,which also houses a ten-pinbowling alley.

For leisure and entertainment,local venues include the LC2, home to the Boardrider, theworld’s first deep water standingwave machine. The 20,000+seat Liberty Stadium is home toprofessional football and rugbyin the City, and also hosts majorpop and rock concerts. And ifyou love film, look no furtherthan Swansea’s state-of-the-art12-screen Vue cinema and theOdeon Cinema complex,which also houses a ten-pinbowling alley.

You'll also find:

• the City Centre and Quadrant shopping centre - home to a wide range ofindependent retailers and major high street stores. The latest development,a £30 million retail project, promises even more choice for shoppers
• the Maritime Quarter - a breezy venue for marina scenery, sailing, exhibitions,pubs and places to eat
• Swansea's famous undercover market - unbeatable for fresh produce and local seafood
• all the main supermarkets: Tesco, Lidl and Sainsbury's are closest to the University inthe City Centre
• nothing is too far away - there's a frequent bus service, an extensive networkof traffic-free cycle paths, and good coach, rail, and motorway connections
• Singleton Park houses the annual "Escape in the Park" dance weekend and BBC "Proms in the Park"

ON YOUR DOORSTEP

You'll discover that Swansea and the Gower encompass the best of all worlds, balancing exciting city living with a natural paradise just a stone's throw from your front
door. Our campus sits in the midst of Singleton Park and Singleton Botanical Gardens, one of the four parks in Swansea to be awarded the 2009 "Green Flag" award.
The University grounds themselves won the 2009 Swansea in Bloom Gold award.

You'll also be just a few footsteps from the sea:

• our parkland campus is situated on the three-mile beach of Swansea Bay
• the Gower Peninsula - 19 miles of dramatic and picturesque coastline
  - is ideal for the great escape when you need a break from lectures and the library
• clean, award-winning beaches - including five "Blue Flag" beaches - that have
  featured in national television campaigns
• Three Cliffs Bay reached the finals of ITV's "Britain's Best View"
• Worm's Head at Rhossili voted "the most romantic place to see a sunset in the UK"
  by readers of Country Living magazine
• some of the UK's best surfing is just around the corner
• the fishing village of Mumbles on the southern tip of Swansea Bay is a real gem
  - chill out in one of the popular seafront pubs or sample some award-winning
  local ice-cream

  The surrounding area is also worth exploring. Within just a few miles you'll find:

• Carmarthenshire - the "Garden of Wales"
• "Waterfall country" - the Vales of Afan and Neath
• the wild, mountainous beauty of the Brecon Beacons
• countless medieval castles and historic monuments.
  

BROADEN YOUR MIND

Culture, said Nehru, is the widening of the mind and of the spirit. Studying in Swansea gives you many opportunities to indulge your artistic and cultural side. At the heart of our campus is the Taliesin Arts Centre, a lively venue that hosts a broad programme of live drama, dance, jazz and world music, and cinema screenings. The Taliesin is also home to the Ceri Richards Gallery, which exhibits work by emerging and established artists, and the Egypt Centre, a two-storey gallery displaying over a thousand Ancient
Egyptian objects dating back from before 3,500BC to AD500.

If you want to venture off campus, you can:

• visit the Dylan Thomas Centre, which hosts an annual Dylan Thomas Festival,
  regular poetry evenings and performances that are open to all
• make the most of Swansea's Grand Theatre's Arts Wing, a popular comedy and
  jazz venue, with two exhibition areas, a rooftop bar and café, and a 120-seat
  performance space
• explore the National Waterfront Museum, which preserves Wales' rich industrial
  and maritime heritage, or Wales' oldest museum, the Swansea Museum,
  which houses treasures from Swansea's past
• spend some time in the Glynn Vivian Gallery, where you'll find works by Dore,
  Hepworth, Augustus John, and Nash, as well as an innovative year-round
  exhibition programme

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Our location is perfect if you prefer your sport a little more "rugged". The outstanding natural environment around the University means that you can:

• sail in the Bay or at Margam Reservoir
• row on the river Tawe
• tackle the mountains of the Brecon Beacons
• surf, windsurf, and canoe at any of the Gower's
  awesome beaches
• go biking at Afan Forest Park - the only UK trail to
  make the "What Mountain Bike Magazine" top ten
  places to ride before you die
• run along the promenade
• go horseriding through the valleys

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Many of our sports clubs are entered into the British University and Colleges Sport championships
and other competitions through the active Athletic Union. Our clubs include:

Aikido, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bodyboarding, Canoeing, Caving, Cricket, Fencing, Football, Go-Karting, Golf, Harriers, Hiking, Hockey, Horse Riding, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Karate, Kite Surfing, Lacrosse, Life Saving, Mountain Biking, Mountaineering, Netball, Rowing, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Running, Sailing, Skiing, Snowboarding, Squash, Sub Aqua, Surfing, Swimming ,Table Tennis, Tae Kwon Do, Tennis, Triathlon, Ultimate Frisbee, Windsurfing

WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY

In the 2009 i-graduate Student Barometer survey of student satisfaction in universities across the UK:

95.4%
of our students were satisfied with the
University's social and sports facilities

89.7%
were satisfied with the overall
learning experience at Swansea

92.2%
were satisfied with Student Support
Services' advice and guidance

94.6%
were satisfied with their overall
arrival experience

88.0%
were satisfied with the support they
received from the Finance Office

87.2%
were satisfied with the support they
received from Residential Services