The University of Wales Trinity Saint David () is a public university with campuses in Carmarthen, Swansea, Cardiff, Birmingham and London.University of Wales Trinity Saint David (2010); Delivering a vision: The Creation of a New University; Trinity Saint David Trust, p. 3BBC News (2009): £14.3m funding for new university; accessed 15 June 2010
The university came into existence through the merger of the two oldest higher education institutions in Wales, the University of Wales, Lampeter (UWL) and Trinity University College (TUC) in 2010, under Lampeter's royal charter of 1828. In 2011, it was announced that the University of Wales would also merge into Trinity Saint David. On 1 August 2013 the university merged with Swansea Metropolitan University. King Charles III has been patron of the university since 2011. The vice-chancellor has been Elwen Evans since June 2023.
The university also collaborated with the University of Malaya in 2013 to establish University of Malaya-Wales, a private university in Malaysia.
History
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David was formed in July 2010 by the merger of the University of Wales, Lampeter and Trinity University College, via a supplementary charter to Lampeter's 1828 royal charter.
In 2008, a report on Lampeter from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education concluded that, although the quality of the university's degrees was satisfactory, they had "limited confidence" in the institution's quality assurance procedures and systems. Further to this assessment, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales commissioned a further report which found "very real problems of leadership and management" at the university. As a direct result, in December 2008, Lampeter announced that it was in merger talks with Trinity with the intention of forming a new university. This was formally announced in April 2009, when the institution's new name, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, was revealed. The university received its first students in September 2010. The name of the institution is a combination of Lampeter's original name (Saint David's College) and the name of Trinity University College.
In June 2010, a declaration of intent was announced between Trinity Saint David, Swansea Metropolitan University and three regional further education colleges (, and ) to establish a South-West Wales regional post-16 further education and higher education educational group. The FE colleges were to merge into one educational group, whilst the HE institutions would merge into another educational group, with both working closely within the region.
In December 2010 it was announced that the university would merge with Swansea Metropolitan University. This merger was completed on 1 August 2013. In May 2011 the university announced it would be establishing the Wales International Academy of Voice in Cardiff, opening in June 2011. In October 2011, it was announced that the University of Wales would also be merged into Trinity Saint David. A deed of union signed in 2017 functionally integrated the two universities, although the full constitutional merger had not been completed
A London campus was opened in 2012. In August 2012, it was announced that , a further education college with five campuses across Carmarthenshire, would be merged with Trinity Saint David, forming a combined higher education and further education institution. In 2015, the university established a second centre in Cardiff with the launch of (the Wales Centre for Performance). In 2016, , another further education college with campuses in Cardigan and Aberystwyth, merged with the university. The university opened a "learning centre" in Birmingham in 2018, offering level 4 (first year undergraduate) courses leading to a Certificate of Higher Education.
In 2020, the university entered a strategic alliance with the University of South Wales through a Deed of Association. A joint statement said that the two universities would be "working together on a national mission to strengthen Wales’ innovation capacity, supporting economic regeneration and the renewal of its communities", while retaining their autonomy and distinct identities.
In 2025, the university announced that teaching would end at the Lampeter campus at the end of the 2024–25 academic year, with humanities courses moving to the Carmarthen campus.
Campuses Carmarthen
Although its foundation and indeed its speciality lies in education, the campus now also teaches a variety of degrees in subjects such as sport, health and nutrition, religious and Islamic studies, psychology, social inclusion, creative arts, photography, film and drama, business and tourism, and English and creative writing. The Carmarthen campus is the base of two of the university's three faculties.
The campus is centred around the original 1848 Old Building of Trinity College. It originally contained all of the original dormitories, common rooms, libraries, an original university quadrangle and teaching spaces. The building today houses several lecture theatres and smaller classrooms often used by the university's School of Justice and Social Inclusion (including psychology) and theology, religious studies and Islamic studies.
Another feature of the old building of Carmarthen is the Archbishop Childs' Hall. Named after Derrick Greenslade Childs, who was Archbishop of Wales, Bishop of Monmouth and director of the Church of Wales. Childs was principal of Trinity in 1965. The hall is of a classical shape and is hung with framed paintings of Childs. On the outside of the building, there is a carved crest of the Bishops of Wales.
– The original 1848 quadrangle, what later became the old college library has been modified into the . This operates in partnership with the main library.
Attached to the main body of the Old Building is the University Chapel. This was built in 1848 and although it has been modified slightly, still retains many original features. Attached to this is the historic ante-chapel, the original chapel the present one being an extension added in 1932, which is dedicated to past students and professors who served in the first world war. The ante-chapel contains a font and is decorated with student artwork. There is also the university chapel lounge which now houses the university's chaplaincy library and serves as a comfortable, relaxed meeting space for the Chapel community. This room also has a stained glass window installed in 2008 in memory of Norah Isaac, former lecturer and pioneer of Welsh language education.
The Swansea-based Faculty of Business and Management has three units (Carmarthen Business School; Sport, Health and Outdoor Education: Carmarthen; Wales Institute for Work-based Learning) on the Carmarthen campus.
Later additions The surrounding campus is a blend of modern buildings surrounded by sweeping lawns and gardens.
Opposite the old building is the Halliwell Centre, named after a former principal of Trinity College, Thomas Halliwell, which is primarily used as a conference facility. Attached to the centre is the Merlin restaurant which is the campus' main restaurant and refectory for catered students.
The Carwyn James Building is a large four-storey building named after Carwyn James, a former Welsh rugby player, teacher and lecturer at Trinity College. This facility is home to the Faculty of Education and Training.
The Dewi Building was originally built in 1925 as the Dewi Hostel. It was an extension of the original old college and served as an extra wing for student accommodation. An account of the conditions of the hostel survives from a student living in them at the time; "To keep oneself warm in the new wing during the Winter months was a problem for although it had a system of heating, the heat seldom reached even the second floor. To wash we depended on the rain-water caught in the roof of the building and this was always cold".
The main library of the university campus was constructed in 1995 to accommodate the growing diversity of subjects on the campus and is located opposite the Parry Block. It is dedicated to the poet Raymond Garlick, who was a principal lecturer in Trinity's Welsh department.
The Parry Building, named after Albert William Parry (a former principal of the college and psychology lecturer 1909–1940), contains a variety of teaching facilities used largely by the university's School of Creative Arts. These include fairly large classrooms and smaller art studios. The building runs parallel to the Norah Isaac building and the two are of very similar designs. Originally the front façade of the building, the oldest part, was the broadcast room in 1950.
Students' Union – The students' union building was the centre of student social life on the campus. Constructed in 1972 it comprised two main venues: the Attic Bar which served food and drinks and downstairs 'Unity', the main entertainment venue of the Union. This facility hosted club nights as well as other social events. The Union incorporated many societies, ranging from sports such as rugby and hockey to historical societies.
Norah Isaac Building – This building is home to the school of social justice and Inclusion and contains the reception for that school. It is named after Norah Isaac, who was responsible for setting up the first ever Welsh drama department, and was a founder of the performing arts tradition at Trinity. It has a selection of classrooms and lecture suites. Degrees in English and Creative Writing are also taught in this building, which is also home to the university's foreign office, which deals with international programmes. It is located directly opposite the Parry Building.
Robert Hunter Building – Named after Robert Hunter, this building contains a selection of classrooms, lecture halls and laboratories used by the school of sport, health and outdoor education. The facility is located near the Myrddin Accommodation blocks, and is surrounded by picturesque gardens and ponds.
Dafydd Rowlands Building – Named after the author Dafydd Rowlands, a minister and previous lecturer of Trinity College in the Welsh department, the building is home to the university's department of Film and Visual Media, this space contains laboratories and studios as well as several working spaces for other programmes within the school of creative arts. It also houses office space.
Swansea
UWTSD took over the campuses of Swansea Metropolitan University upon the merger of the two institutions. These now make up part of the Swansea city centre campuses of the university, consisting of the Dynevor campus, the Mount Pleasant campus, the Alex Design Exchange, and the Swansea Business Campus (including the Swansea Business School). The current Swansea Business School building was a part of Swansea Metropolitan University from its formation in 1897 as the Swansea Technical College.
In 2018 the university opened a new £350 million campus at the SA1 Swansea Waterfront, housing Yr Athrofa: the Institute of Education, and the Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Engineering. Staff and students from the city centre Townhill and Mount Pleasant campuses relocated to SA1, with Townhill closing at the end of the 2017–18 academic year although the university initially retained a presence at Mount Pleasant.
, the three main parts of the Swansea campus are the SA1 Swansea Waterfront Campus and Innovation Centre, which houses STEM subjects and education in the IQ building, and the campus library (Y Fforwm), the Swansea Business Campus, and the Swansea College of Art (Alex Building and Dynevor Building).
Other campuses London The university's London Campus opened in 2012, originally in Islington, and moved to its current location in Winchester House on Cranmer Road in Lambeth in 2013. The campus offers a variety of BA, MA, MBA and DBA courses in various business and management fields, as well as a BSc in cloud computing.