Bangor University (Welsh: Prifysgol Bangor) is a Welsh university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales. It received its Royal charter in 1885 and was one of the founding Member institution of the former federal University of Wales. It was officially known for most of its history as the University of Wales, Bangor (UWB) (Welsh: Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor). From September 2007 it became known as Bangor University, having become independent from the federal University of Wales.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, almost 50 per cent of all research at Bangor University was assessed as world-leading. Bangor is ranked 251 of the world's top universities. According to the Sunday Times University Guide 2012, it is rated top in Wales for teaching excellence and places in the top 15 UK universities in this category.
More than half of the academic departments at Bangor received an "Excellent" rating for the quality of teaching, and several departments scored very highly in the 2007 National Student Survey, with the School of Music occupying the top slot in the UK.
Following a reshuffle in August 2006, the University is divided into six Colleges. These are then broken down into Schools and Research Institutes. One of the departments that closed as a result of the reorganisation was Mathematics. The Guardian league table placed Bangor fifth in the UK for maths despite the University no longer admitting students.
Bangor's Colleges, and their constituent Schools and Research Institutes, are:
College of Arts, Education and Humanities
• School of Creative Studies and Media
• School of Education
• School of English
• School of History, Welsh History and Archaeology
• School of Linguistics and English Language
• School of Modern Languages
• School of Music
• School of Theology and Religious Studies
• School of Welsh
• NIECI (National Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries)
• ELCOS (English Language Centre for Overseas Students)
• WISCA (Welsh Institute for Social and Cultural Affairs)
• ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism
College of Business, Social Sciences and Law
• Bangor Business School
• School of Law
• School of Social Sciences
College of Lifelong Learning
• School of Lifelong Learning
College of Natural Sciences
School of Biological Sciences (includes Treborth Botanic Garden)
• School of the Environment, Natural Resources and Geography
• School of Ocean Sciences
• Welsh Institute of Natural Resources
College of Health and Behavioural Sciences
• School of Healthcare Sciences
• School of Medical Sciences
• School of Psychology, Bangor University
• School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences
• Institute of Medical and Social Care Research
College of Physical and Applied Sciences
School of Chemistry
• School of Computer Science (previously School of Informatics)
• School of Electronics