UWS has a total of 5,200 students and has the advantage of being large enough to support a range of academic and social activity and, at the same time, small enough to ensure a sense of community. The academic year consists of three terms beginning in October and ending in July.
Courses are of a lecture and seminar style and last the whole year.
UWS occupies a modern and compact campus, which has been planned as an integrated whole. Attractively interspersed with a variety of courts and quadrangles, a number of the buildings have won major architectural awards and the majority enjoy views of Swansea Bay. In the heart of the campus is the University's arts center, the Taliesin. Throughout the year there is a mixed program of professional and amateur drama, dance, opera, film, and concerts ranging from classical to jazz and rock. Exchange participants can select from more than 120 societies formed and run by students with which they may wish to affiliate.