Study Facilities
Excellent Facilities
Our Library and Information Centre located in the heart of the campus contains a wide range of resources. There are also specialist branch libraries that cater for specific subject needs. There are over 800,000 books, journals, newspapers and other printed materials, as well as videos, DVDs and a wide range of software applications available. The Library is open over 80 hours a week during term time, including Sundays.
Approximately one PC is available for every six students. There are 450 PCs for student use at the Library and Information Centre, with more PCs available in branch libraries, departments, and in the Student Village at Hendrefoelan.
Our PCs give you free Internet access and a personal email account and file store. PCs can be used to word-process essays, to email tutors and other learners, to search networked information databases and to access thousands of electronic journal articles.
There is an online library catalogue, which you can use to search for books and journals at anytime, and an online facility to renew books and place reservations for books on loan. A variety of study spaces, include silent and group study areas and dedicated facilities for students with special needs.
Photocopiers, scanners and printers are provided for copying material within the limits of copyright law, with trained staff on hand to provide advice and assistance.
Our helpful and friendly staff will offer you in-depth advice and support. We offer courses on how to make the best use of the services and resources we provide, including an introduction when you first arrive to get you started and, later on in your university career, courses on information skills, including Internet use.
Audio, Television and Video
Recording facilities
The Media Services
department is well equipped to provide a high quality audio recording
facility, including a studio and portable equipment. A "Soundscape"
digital editing suite is at the heart of the comprehensive editing and
audio compression systems are available. Masters can be prepared onto
tape, DAT, MiniDisc or CD.
Well-equipped television studios suitable for small-scale productions or training in the techniques of television are provided. Recordings are not limited to the studio areas as several portable units (not only traditional camcorders but also new generation digital kit) are available for on location filming. Editing can be performed to produce formats suitable for copying onto conventional videotape or kept entirely in the digital domain for incorporation directly into web pages or loading onto a video streamer.
Off-air reception is provided not only from regional transmitters but also from the Centre's own satellite communications links. Recordings can be made of off-air recordings under the ERA licensing arrangements.
Labs
The Clinical practice suites have been designed to
function just like a real hospital ward. The School of Health Science
worked closely with NHS Trusts to ensure that the room is equipped with
state-of-the art technology and equipment from electronic beds,
‘SimMan’ - a high-tech ‘Universal patient simulator’ manneqin, medicine
chests, special hoists and resuscitation machines to name a few.
The
result is an authentic environment, which gives student nurses a taste
of what it will be like to deliver specific treatments and nursing care
in a hospital setting. Clinical practice suites are located at all
three SHS campuses, including Singleton Park, Morriston Hospital and
Trinity College in Carmarthen.
The School of Engineering has laboratories for experimental work in structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, electronics, communication, metallography, chemical processing, geotechnics and materials testing.
The Sports Science department has recently developed its own laboratories that rank alongside the most prestigious and well known universities in the UK. Students can benefit from the Motor Learning Laboratory, Physiology Laboratory, Notational Analysis Laboratory and the Biomechanics Laboratory.
Language Labs
The School of Arts house modern
language laboratories, and CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning)
facilities for private study and language consolidation/revision.
There is also a well-equipped School library with up-to-date learning resources and a dedicated video-viewing and satellite TV room. Students can keep up with foreign news, borrow films from our extensive video collections, and consult a wide range of newspapers and magazines. There are many active student societies which introduce students to the cultural, gastronomic and social aspects of life across Europe and Latin America.
Virtual Reality Cave
The School of Engineering has excellent facilities, including a Virtual Reality Cave. Our computer facilities provide general and specialist software for engineering simulations and design, and the production of professional quality reports and documents.
Wireless Internet Access
The University campus has an extensive wireless network, so you can be free to work when and where it suits you. Laptops are available to students on loan from the Library and Information Service.
Moot Court
Based in the School of Law, the Moot Court is a mock-up of real court for students to gain practical experience of arguing cases in a courtroom environment.
Egypt Centre
The Egypt Centre is a museum of Egyptian antiquities. The Centre is a centre of excellence for museology, providing advice to other museums throughout Britain. There are over 4500 items in the collection from many different dynasties from the Egyptian period. The museum is open to the public and the Centre runs talks and workshops and regularly collaborates with Academic schools.
Video Library
The American Studies Video Library is a vital resource for students taking any modules in the department. Containing over 1100 items, ranging from documentaries and news footage to blockbuster Hollywood movies and independent shorts, the library represents a significant body of visual and film material that helps students gain many and varied insights into American history and culture.