The Students' Union
The Student's Union in Cardiff
The Students' Union is a large complex entirely dedicated to Cardiff University students. During your time at Cardiff you will probably spend a lot of your time in the Union, both socialising, meeting fellow students, working, getting advice, finding out about forthcoming events, purchasing your course books from the University Bookshop, sorting out your finances at the bank, binding your dissertation, or just having a coffee break. You will automatically be a member of the Students' Union on enrolment, which will entitle you to generous discounts in many of the city's shops, restaurants, and cinemas.
The Great Hall
This is the University's prime concert venue, and has hosted some popular bands over the years, recently: Coldplay, The Bluetones, Reef, Ash, and more; up to thirty concerts are held here each year.
Solus
This is the union's own night-club, with a 1600 people capacity. It's an exciting place to meet new people and meet up with old friends to party to a different type of music each night; drum and base; house; 70's music and disco. There are also cinema nights; comedy evenings, and a wide range of special one-off events taking place throughout the year. This venue also hosts regular poster, plant and clothes sales to help make your new room feel like home.
Cafe Seren Las
Come here to meet your friends, have a baguette and a coffee, watch some television and relax away from your studies for a while. This is also a great place to hold your own party as the venue can be rented out for students' private functions.
The Tafarn
A typical British pub which serves drinks cheaper than anywhere in Cardiff, has a cosy atmosphere and stays open until late.
A Safe and Affordable Night Out
Apart from the prices, what makes the Union a great place to go out is the safety; free minibuses run from the Students' Union to all university halls from the time your lectures finish until after the Union closes. Female students take priority on this bus service and after midnight the buses are exclusively for women. All University venues have security staff working at all times and no-one but you and your fellow students can gain entry to the Union in the evening.
Meeting People, Getting Fit and Having Fun
The Students' Union is home to a huge number of student societies; there are 144 in total: 22 run by and for International Students exclusively; 56 sports societies; and 66 others from a wide range of pursuits and interests: there is bound to be something that you will want to join. Joining a student society is an excellent way to make new friends, meet people from your own country, get fit, have some fun, or find a new hobby. Getting involved in student life is also a good way to impress future employers.
Graduate Centre
Cardiff University has a firm commitment to supporting its postgraduate community and as such all Cardiff postgraduate students have access to the newly-developed Graduate Centre. The centre offers excellent facilities including over 40 networked computers accessible 24 hours a day; an information room with a range of literature about funding opportunities, careers, conferences and entertainment; and faxes, photocopiers and telephones available for student use. It is a place to eat and drink with friends, a centre for interdepartmental research seminars and interdisciplinary research training and somewhere to get some quiet study done.
Student Advice Centre
The Student Advice Centre in the Students' Union consists of three full-time staff plus an Academic Affairs Officer and Equal Opportunities Officer. These people are there to help you throughout your time at university with any problems you might have with money management, accommodation, finding employment, etc. Whatever your concern there will be someone who will do their very best to help you. International Student Adviser Within the Student Advice Centre there is one member of staff who is there especially for International Students. Her name is Denise Brereton and she is available throughout the year, to help with immigration issues, work permits, entry and holiday visas, or any problems you might have whilst a student at Cardiff University. You can telephone her on: +44 (0)29 2078 1492, or email her on: BreretonD@cf.ac.uk. She is the best person to contact if you have any visa problems whilst you are here, or for any of your problems. She will be happy to help.
Student Development Unit
This provides you with an excellent opportunity to gain extra skills during your time at university. A wide range of short course choices are on offer including: Speaking and Presentations Skills; Information Technology Skills; Creating and Maintaining Websites; Basic Welsh, and much more. This is an ideal chance to get yourself noticed by future employers; the courses are available to all students who want to do them and they won't cost you anything.
Gair Rhydd and Xpress FM
Cardiff University Students' Union produces a free weekly newspaper, the Gair Rhydd (Welsh for Free Word) and a 24-hour radio show, Xpress FM; both of these are entirely run by students for students. The best thing is that it's another chance to get involved; Gair Rhydd welcomes anyone who wants to write for the paper, edit pages, interview people, take photographs etc; and if you've ever fancied being a DJ why not do some presenting for Xpress FM?
The Students' Union have their own web pages: Students' Union Web Site