Cardiff University (Welsh: Prifysgol Caerdydd) is a public research university located in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. The University is composed of three colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; and Physical Sciences and Engineering. Founded in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, it became one of the founding colleges of the University of Wales in 1893, and in 1999 became an independent University awarding its own degrees. It is the second oldest university in Wales. It is a member of the Russell Group of leading British research universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based university education and is ranked 123 of the world's top universities by the QS World University Rankings, as well as achieving the highest student satisfaction rating in the 2013 National Student Survey for universities in Wales. The University has an undergraduate enrollment of 20,611 and a total enrollment of 27,774, making it one of the largest universities in Wales. The Cardiff University Students' Union works to promote the interests of the student body within the University and further afield. The University's sports teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues.
