Living and Studying in Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, and the ninth largest city in the UK. The city centre is compact and easy to get around, and Cardiff is known as a safe and friendly city. The main University campus, which includes the School of Chemistry, is only 15 minutes walk from the city centre and 20 minutes walk from the bus and train stations.

Cardiff has excellent transport links, making travel home and around the UK relatively easy. As well as having its own international airport 30 minutes travel from the city centre, Cardiff is convenient for Heathrow (220 km, with easy road and rail access), Bristol (80 km) and Birmingham (190 km) international airports.

For more information about Cardiff, please see the Visit Cardiff website, and the University international pages.

All undergraduate and postgraduate taught students are assigned a Personal Tutor, while postgraduate research students are assigned a Mentor in addition to their academic supervisor.

The Personal Tutor or Mentor is responsible for the overall welfare of students under their care, and will be the first port of call for general academic and non-academic issues. All staff have offices on campus, so you can always approach lecturers with any problems that you may have, academic or otherwise.

In addition, the University's Student Support Centre provides a wide range of support, advice and guidance, including dedicated International Student Advisors.

Cardiff is one of the more affordable of the traditional university cities meaning you'll have more to spend exploring the UK and Europe.

You can use our living expenses calculator to work out your likely living expenses, based on the expenditure of international students at Cardiff University.

You can arrange accommodation through the university, or privately. Please see the main University accommodation page for more details.