As of July 2025[update], there are nine universities providinghigher education inWales. Eight are campus-based:Aberystwyth,Bangor,Cardiff,Cardiff Metropolitan,University of South Wales,Swansea,University of Wales Trinity Saint David, andWrexham; as well as the UK-wideOpen University in Wales.[1] Higher education institutions receive funding fromMedr,[2] which replaced theHigher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).
University status in Wales only requires taughtdegree awarding powers (since 2004).[3] Most Welsh universities have the power to award both taught and research degrees, although research degrees atWrexham University are awarded by theUniversity of Chester.[4] University status in Wales is conferred by thePrivy Council following advice from theQuality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.[5][6] The criteria for university status were set by the UK government in 2004; since then higher education in Wales has become a devolved matter under theGovernment of Wales Act 2006 and is the responsibility of theCabinet Secretary for Education in theWelsh Government.
In 2025–26 global rankings, three Welsh universities (Bangor,Cardiff andSwansea) featured in all three of the major global rankings: theAcademic Ranking of World Universities, theQS World University Rankings, and theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings.[7][8][9] No Welsh university features in the top 100 of any of the global tables, although Cardiff makes the top 300 in all three and also places within the top 40 universities of allthree major domestic rankings.
All Welsh universities arepublic universities and funded in part by theWelsh Government, previously by HEFCW (now Medr), with an allocation of just over £217 million in 2022-23.[10] Welsh universities also charge tuition fees capped at £9,000 per year for UK students, unlike other parts of the UK which have fees capped at £9,250, on undergraduate courses.[11] In the 2023–24 academic year, approximately 150,700 students studied at universities or institutes of higher education in Wales. Included in the figure are 68,900 students normally domiciled in Wales, 52,100 from the rest of the United Kingdom and a further 27,800international students.[12] Welsh universities generate over £5.3 billion for the Welsh economy,[13] for the financial year 2019/2020.[14]
| English name | Welsh Name | Image | Year of foundation | Location | Total HE students (2024/25)[15] | Academic staff (2023/24)[16] | Teaching Excellence Framework | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth University | Prifysgol Aberystwyth |  | 1872 | Aberystwyth | 8,970 | 720 | Gold | Founded as theUniversity College Wales |
| Bangor University | Prifysgol Bangor |  | 1884 | Bangor | 9,935 | 960 | Gold | Founded as theUniversity College of North Wales |
| Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd | | 1883 | Cardiff | 31,505 | 3,975 | Silver | Founded as theUniversity College of South Wales and Monmouthshire. Merged in 1988 with theUniversity of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. Merged in 2004 with theUniversity of Wales College of Medicine. |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Prifysgol Fetropolitan Caerdydd |  | 2011 (origins 1865) | Cardiff | 12,265 | 885 | Silver | Founded as theSouth Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education in 1976, formed from the merger of four earlier institutes including theCardiff School of Art & Design (1865). |
| University of South Wales | Prifysgol De Cymru |  | 2013 (origins 1841) | Cardiff,Newport andPontypridd | 20,790 | 1,860 | Did not enter | Formed by the merger ofUniversity of Wales, Newport (1975, with origins in 1841) and theUniversity of Glamorgan (1992, with origins in 1913) in 2013. Also incorporates theRoyal Welsh College of Music & Drama |
| Swansea University | Prifysgol Abertawe |  | 1920 | Swansea | 18,985 | 1,740 | Gold | Founded as theUniversity College, Swansea |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | Prifysgol Cymru, Y Drindod Dewi Sant |  | 2010 (origins 1822) | Cardiff,Carmarthen,SwanseaBirmingham andLondon | 15,415 | 965 | Bronze | Formed in 2010 by the merger ofUniversity of Wales, Lampeter (1822),Trinity University College (1848) andSwansea Metropolitan University (2008, with origins in 1853) |
| Wrexham University | Prifysgol Wrecsam | .JPG) | 1887 | Wrexham,Northop,St Asaph | 8,560 | 240 | Silver | Founded as theWrexham School of Science and Art and later became a university asGlyndŵr University. |
The total consolidated annual income for Welsh universities for 2020–21 was £1.78 billion of which £230.0 million was from research grants and contracts, with an operating surplus of £74.2 million. £332.2 million was received from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales via grants and £356.7 million was received from tuition fees of Home-domiciled students. The table below is a record of each university's financial data for the 2020–21 financial year as recorded by theHigher Education Statistics Agency:[17]
| University | Government funding body grants (£m) | Funding Body income as % of total income | Home-Domiciled Teaching income (£m) | Overall Teaching income (£m) | Teaching income as % of total income | Research income (£m) | Research income as % of total income | Total income (£m) | Operating surplus (£m) | Surplus as % of total income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth University | 22.1 | 18.6% | 16.0 | 54.0 | 45.4% | 20.2 | 17.0% | 118.8 | —2.0 | —1.70% |
| Bangor University | 30.3 | 19.8% | 27.6 | 75.8 | 49.4% | 23.4 | 15.2% | 153.4 | —1.5 | —1.01% |
| Cardiff University | 109.5 | 18.1% | 66.6 | 306.9 | 50.8% | 112.6 | 18.6% | 604.6 | 31.4 | 5.19% |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | 14.8 | 12.1% | 42.3 | 90.2 | 73.8% | 2.4 | 2.0% | 122.3 | 2.9 | 2.34% |
| University of South Wales | 32.7 | 16.3% | 77.1 | 140.0 | 69.9% | 7.5 | 3.8% | 200.2 | 5.8 | 2.89% |
| Swansea University | 50.4 | 14.0% | 66.8 | 184.3 | 51.1% | 62.1 | 17.2% | 360.8 | 27.8 | 7.72% |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 63.3 | 36.4% | 40.1 | 87.0 | 50.0% | 0.6 | 0.4% | 173.9 | 8.2 | 4.72% |
| Wrexham University | 9.2 | 19.6% | 20.1 | 31.6 | 67.2% | 1.1 | 2.4% | 47.1 | 1.7 | 3.68% |
The below lists the outcome of the latestResearch Excellence Framework undertaken in 2021 (the next REF is scheduled for 2028) by the four UK higher education funding bodies. The quality of research was rated 4* (world leading), 3* (internationally excellent), 2* (recognised internationally), 1* (recognised nationally) and unclassified. GPA measures the quality of research and Research Power is calculated by the GPA score of a university multiplied by the full-time equivalent number of researchers submitted. The rankings are out of 129 institutions across the UK:[18]
| Quality profile % | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University | 4* | 3* | 2* | 1* | Unclassified | GPA ranking | Research Power ranking |
| Aberystwyth University | 26 | 50 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 76 |
| Bangor University | 40 | 45 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 77 |
| Cardiff University | 45 | 45 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 14 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | 20 | 50 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 81 | 99 |
| University of South Wales | 16 | 45 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 101 | 95 |
| Swansea University | 35 | 51 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 41 |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 15 | 34 | 37 | 12 | 2 | 112 | 117 |
| Wrexham University | 6 | 30 | 44 | 19 | 2 | 123 | 129 |
The following table is a list of Welsh universities by their performance in the three main domestic and three main global university rankings.
| University | Complete 2026 (National)[19] | Guardian 2026 (National)[20] | Times/Sunday Times 2026 (National)[21] | ARWU 2025 (Global)[7] | QS 2026 (Global)[8] | THE 2026 (Global)[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth University | 45 | 62 | 42 | — | 741–750 | 601–800 |
| Bangor University | 55= | 62 | 59 | 601–700 | 566= | 501–600 |
| Cardiff University | 22 | 37 | 28= | 201–300 | 181 | 201–250 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | 66 | 87 | 71 | — | — | 1001–1200 |
| University of South Wales | 77 | 43 | 82 | — | — | 1201–1500 |
| Swansea University | 40 | 32 | 37 | 701–800 | 292 | 301–350 |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 111 | 73 | 99 | — | — | — |
| Wrexham University | 129 | 111 | 122 | — | — | — |
Universities and colleges inWales | |
|---|---|
| Universities | |
| Further education colleges | |
| Sixth form colleges | |
| Conservatoire | |
