# Is anyone familiar with the University of South Wales? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 29, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930 "2024-04-29T16:10:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/1 "2024-04-29T16:10:21Z")
Not New South Wales in Australia but South Wales in … Wales. They have a program(me) I’m interested in but so far in researching the school I have been unimpressed. I asked a question and their reply was basically cut-and-paste from the website. I need to find an advisor but going through their list of professors it is impossible to find out what their specialties are. The topology of their website can best be described as a Gordian knot. Oh and I need my degree to be accepted in the United States and I believe it is, at least for some programs. So does anyone have the SD on USW? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/2 "2024-04-29T16:19:56Z")
And before anyone beats me to it, the [Mitchell & Webb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxKnFckhzUs) clip. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/3 "2024-04-29T16:35:28Z")
So can’t speak to this particular university but I do note it’s an “ex poly”. That is a former a polytechnic (basically one step from community college in US parlance);that were allowed to change their name to university to remove the stigma associated with being a “poly”. Though my knowledge of such things is at least a quarter century out of date, and I don’t know how fair the criticism was even then (or of it was just snobbishness among the “real universities”) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/4 "2024-04-30T02:56:12Z")
Oops, never mind ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/5 "2024-04-30T06:18:07Z")
It’s not some fly-by-night degree mill. As a collection of former technical/professional institutions, its tradition is stronger in teaching than in research. It has a history of changing its title as it merges with/absorbs other smaller institutions, and if it’s gone for a federated administrative structure, that might explain why you’re finding it hard to deal with their website. > **[University of South Wales](https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-south-wales)** > > The University of South Wales was founded in 2013 through the merging of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The University of Wales, Newport originated in the Newport Mechanics’ Institute, founded in 1841. The South... I would say, though, that the university sector is undergoing some financial turmoil at the moment, and the less prestigious institutions particularly so. And most universities wouldn’t give out very detailed information about specific teaching and curricula until nearer the start of a course. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/6 "2024-04-30T09:14:30Z")
The former polytechnic university I work for in nearby Bristol was (to my understanding) a collection of vocational training colleges (e.g. teacher training, nurse training) amalgamated into a single entity. So I think generally, you’d expect more vocational courses and less research, than with a ‘Russell Group’ (think ‘Ivy League’) university. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/7 "2024-04-30T11:47:24Z")
My daughter went to Portsmouth, another former Polly and one that seems to be well-regarded. USW has a high rating: [https://www.shiksha.com/studyabroad/uk/universities/university-of-south-wales/ranking#:~:text=According%20to%20major%20ranking%20bodies,1001-1200%20in%20the%20world](https://www.shiksha.com/studyabroad/uk/universities/university-of-south-wales/ranking#:~:text=According%20to%20major%20ranking%20bodies,1001%2D1200%20in%20the%20world). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/8 "2024-04-30T17:10:13Z")
Looks like you can find out about their staff at > **[Staff Directory University of South Wales](https://staffdirectory.southwales.ac.uk/)** > > University of South Wales Staff Directory ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-familiar-with-the-university-of-south-wales/1000930/9 "2024-04-30T17:49:43Z")
I can find the staff, but there is no description, as par as I can find, as to what their specialty is.