Cardiff Metropolitan University guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
Cardiff Met scores well for student support, and its courses are well regarded by a fast-growing student body. Applications to Wales's sportiest university - and one of the leading sports universities in the UK - have grown by more than 60% since 2019, with last year's intake the largest yet. While the city is one of the most fashionable student destinations, Cardiff Met's particular offer to students plays a big part in its success. It was named our Welsh University of the Year for 2024 and recruits more than half of its students from Wales. It works hard to keep costs down and the standard of facilities high. It also prioritises student safety on campus and has robust mental health and wellbeing structures in place, including a team of NHS mental health nurses working on campus. Cardiff Met regularly ranks in the top 30 for sport in the UK despite its relatively small size, and its outstanding facilities include the National Indoor Athletics Centre. The university offers a breadth of courses spanning teacher training, health, sport, social and life sciences, technology, business and creative subjects. In addition to the teaching campuses, Cyncoed and Llandaff, there is a third residential campus, Plas Gwyn.
Paying the bills
Cardiff Met's financial support package aims to reduce some of the hidden costs of studying. Its StudyLife bursary provides around 600 students across all years with a substantial catering allowance and cash towards accommodation, travel, printing and course materials costs to the value of £950 per year. It is paid to students from homes with a household income of less than £30,000 a year, and which are located in postcodes with the lowest rates 0f participation in higher education. A separate annual budget of £150,000 meets the needs of students in extreme financial hardship and a £50,000 pot covers the full cost of dyslexia assessments. Just under 500 financial awards were made in 2023-24. Up to 35 sports scholarships, which can be worth £5,000 a year, are paid to elite athletes attracted to some of the best facilities available in UK higher education. Accommodation price increases have been held at 2% this year, with self-catered rooms priced between £5,754 and £7,056 for a 42-week contract, and catered accommodation coming in at between £8,526 and £9,576 for the same length of time.
What's new?
A rolling programme of campus upgrades and refurbishments will reach another milestone in time for admissions in September. Internal social and learning spaces across campus are being improved and an ongoing decarbonisation project - befitting a university ranked 12th in the UK in the latest People & Planet league table - will see more solar panels, energy-efficient lighting and other renewable-energy infrastructure installed. People & Planet rankings are determined by environmental and ethical performance. New cycle shelters, changing and shower facilities, clinical therapy labs and a strength and conditioning gym - together with refurbishment of sports conditioning, rehabilitation and massage facilities - will add to Cardiff Met's already outstanding sports offering. Unlike its city neighbour, there are no course closures planned at Cardiff Met as a result of the present higher-education financial crisis, but the university said it would need to make between 30 and 50 compulsory redundancies earlier this year to address a deficit of £3m in 2023-24. New degrees admitting their first students in September include interior architecture, politics and international relations, electrical and electronic engineering, and a health and wellbeing top-up degree. Further opportunities in the university's signature subject area will be opened up by the launch of a new foundation sport degree in September next year, which will act as a gateway to all sport degrees.
Admissions, teaching and student support
About 70% of admissions in September 2024 gained their place at Cardiff Met with a contextual offer. The scheme runs across all degree courses and reduces the standard offer by one A-level grade or the eight-point equivalent in Ucas tariff points. Beneficiaries include all first-generation students; those recruited from the 40% of postcodes with the lowest levels of participation in higher education or from schools with low university progression rates; care leavers; and those who have taken part in a widening-participation programme at the university. Once at Cardiff Met, all students are offered tiered wellbeing and mental health support according to need. In addition to one-to-one counselling and advisory support, the university's wellbeing service runs several psycho-educational workshops covering issues such as improving sleep and managing anxiety. It also provides online support to manage mental health and wellbeing. The Well Met app has been introduced in the past year and includes an AI-driven 'nudge' to encourage students to take the necessary steps to maintain physical and mental wellbeing. The university has developed a relationship with Papyrus, the national charity supporting young people at risk of suicide, which delivers awareness and prevention training to staff and students. The university takes campus safety seriously and is one of a small number to require students to take an online halls of residence induction programme, which includes a video that covers consent, drug use and drink awareness. This must be completed before students are issued with their room key. The induction module, which lasts approximately five minutes, covers what is and isn't acceptable when someone is drunk, and what is acceptable when taking photographs and posting on social media, delivered from both a male and female perspective.