Cardiff University

The college opened on October 24, 1883, and was formally established by Royal Charter in 1884. It began with 13 academic staff, 12 departments, 102 full-time degree students and 49 part-time students.⁠[1]

In 1893 the college became a founding institution of the University of Wales and began awarding its degrees.⁠[1]

In 1931 the college’s medical school split off.⁠[1]

By 1972 the college had been renamed University College, Cardiff.⁠[1]

In 1988 the college merged with the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST). Following the merger, the College of Arms granted the institution its coat of arms that year.⁠[1]

In 1998 Cardiff University joined the Russell Group together with King’s College LondonKing's College LondonKing’s College London is a research university in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1829, it is a member of the Russell Group.Open the full entry.⁠[2]

In 1999 the institution’s public name changed to Cardiff University.⁠[1]

In 2004 the university merged with the University of Wales College of Medicine, which had originally been part of it, making the merger a reunification. In December 2004 the Privy Council approved a Supplemental Charter granting university status and the legal name Cardiff University, and the institution became independent of the University of Wales. Students admitted before 2005 receive University of Wales degrees, and later students receive Cardiff University degrees.⁠[1]

Professor Sir Martin Evans stood down as Chancellor in 2017. On January 16, 2019, the university announced the appointment as Chancellor of Baroness Randerson, a Pro-Chancellor since 2017, with her inauguration scheduled for January 30, 2019. The Chancellor is the university’s most senior honorary position, chairing the University Court and presiding over graduation ceremonies.⁠[3]

On January 31, 2023, the university announced that Professor Wendy Larner would succeed Professor Colin Riordan, who had led it for about a decade, as President and Vice-Chancellor, becoming the first female Vice-Chancellor in its 140-year history. She took office on September 1, 2023.⁠[4][5]

Larner is a New Zealand human geographer. She was Provost of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington from 2015 to 2023 and Dean of Social Sciences and Law and Professor of Human Geography at the University of BristolUniversity of BristolThe University of Bristol is a research university in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. It began as University College, Bristol, which opened in 1876, became a university under a royal charter in 1909 and is a member of the Russell Group.Open the full entry from 2005 to 2015, and she has served as President of the Royal Society Te Apārangi and Chair of the Fulbright New Zealand Board.⁠[5][6]

On February 19, 2025, the university named former BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry journalist Laura Trevelyan as Chancellor, succeeding the late Baroness Jenny Randerson. Trevelyan studied journalism at Cardiff, became an Honorary Fellow in 2022 and spent 30 years at BBC News.⁠[7]

In the financial year ended July 31, 2025, the university’s total gross income was £634.07 million and its total expenditure £692.02 million, compared with income of £646.94 million and expenditure of £674.41 million in the year ended July 31, 2024.⁠[8]

The arms include supporters, which are rarely granted to universities; the angel and the dragon come from the crests of the merged institutions. The motto, “Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord” (“Truth, Unity and Concord”), comes from the closing phrase of the Prayer for the Church Militant in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.⁠[1]

In its 2025 international prospectus the university lists 32,700 students from more than 138 countries, including 7,530 international students. It offers more than 350 courses and has more than 200 partnerships worldwide.⁠[9][10]

The university lists two Nobel laureates: Sir Martin Evans (Medicine) and Robert Huber (Chemistry).⁠[9]

The university was the first Welsh university to admit women and the earliest chartered UK institution to employ women as professors, and it provided school places for refugees through two World Wars.⁠[10]

Cardiff University: Official website: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]