University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Overview

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) is a new uni, being formed in 2010 after the merger of the University of Wales Lampeter and Trinity University College Carmarthen.

The uni is set across three main campuses in southwest Wales – Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea. It also has sites in Birmingham, London and Cardiff. Each of the main campuses has its own facilities, including food and coffee outlets and social spaces.

Carmarthen campus houses the Halliwell Theatre which puts on various shows and events, while the Swansea campus’s iconic Alex Reading Room is great for entertainment. Other student services you can use include the Students’ Union and the wellbeing support team, who offer counselling and mental health services.

Outside the campuses, you’ll find plenty to do wherever you’re based. Swansea has great nightlife and a beach, while Carmarthen is a thriving town. Lampeter has a busy commercial centre, with shops and places to eat and drink. You’ll find both Carmarthen and Lampeter campuses close to their respective town centres.

Being in southwest Wales, you’ll have access to the great outdoors too, meaning there are opportunities for walking, hiking, biking and golf, as well as the water activities you can do such as surfing.

At UWTSD, you’ll find more than 300 employment-focused courses that are creative and innovative and taught by a dedicated teaching staff. The uni aims for small class sizes in order to give students personal attention. Courses are designed to give students practical expertise and real-world experience.

While most students study full-time, UWTSD believes in offering the chance to study part-time too, on a more flexible basis. You’ll find Certificates of Higher Education and Online and Distance Learning programmes that can be done part-time, as well as several undergraduate courses.

Typically, full-time undergraduate degrees at UWTSD take three years to study, but some courses include placement or foundation years. These courses usually take four or five years to complete.

Most degrees include optional modules, as well as core modules, meaning you can study the degree topics you’re most interested in.

It's also possible to combine two or three subjects within an undergraduate degree in what’s called a combined honours degree. For example, you could study BA Archaeology and Anthropology, or BA Creative Writing and Philosophy.

UWTSD accepts applicants with a variety of qualifications, like A-levels, Scottish Highers, Advanced Highers and BTECs. If you need to, you may be able to combine different qualifications to make the required UCAS points.

Each course will have its own specific entry requirements, which may include having studied certain subjects or having to go to an interview. You can find each course’s entry requirements online on the uni’s course search pages, but we’ve given you an idea of the kind of grades you’ll need to study certain subjects below as well.

For example, to study a degree in business, accounting or finance, you’ll be asked for UCAS Tariff points ranging from 120–80, and to study an art & design or computing & IT degree, you’ll need 120–32. For a health & medicine degree, it’s 120–64 points.

It should be noted that entry requirements can change so you should always confirm these with the university before applying.

All three of UWTSD’s campuses have accommodation on-site, meaning you’ll be able to find somewhere to live that’s convenient and appropriate.

On Carmarthen you’ll find en suite, single rooms only, while Lampeter has both en suite and shared bathroom options. On the Swansea campus, you’ll find en suite accommodation that’s a five-minute walk from the train station and other attractions.

Wherever you stay, you’ll be in a safe and secure environment with accommodation officers available to offer support. Arrangements can often be made to accommodate individual disability-related requests from students.

If you’d prefer not to live in university-owned accommodation, private halls are also available, and you can rent privately through landlords or agencies if halls aren’t for you.

As a student at UWTSD, you’ll have access to a dedicated Careers Service that can be used to get information, advice and guidance on all things career-related. For instance, you’ll be able to book one-to-one appointments with a career adviser to discuss anything from perfecting your CV and preparing for job interviews to creating a LinkedIn profile.

You’ll also get 24/7 access to the careers platform for online support, like careers information, self-assessment tools, career planners and interview practice resources. There’s also an online job vacancy resource that will help you find different work opportunities, including local and national job vacancies.

Careers events are also held throughout the year, both in person and online. Careers fairs and skills workshops are a great way to increase your job prospects as you’ll be able to meet potential employers and improve important employability skills.

UWTSD is also a great uni to be at if you’re into creativity-based entrepreneurship. Creative Bubble is a network for student enterprise which hosts pop-up shops, exhibitions, performances and more.

There’s a variety of scholarships and bursaries available at UWTSD that are for students who meet certain criteria, to make education more accessible. This extra funding can go towards the cost of living and studying and doesn’t need to be repaid.

The funding includes departmental scholarships, residential bursaries, educational bursaries, ethnicity equality bursaries, as well as support for students from low-income or care backgrounds. There’s also financial support available for Welsh-speaking students, disabled students, asylum seekers and transgender and non-binary students.

You can find out about all the scholarships and bursaries available, as well as their eligibility criteria, by visiting the uni’s online funding pages.