Times Higher Award for Outstanding Support to Students.
The former vice-chancellor of the university, Julie Lydon, was appointed an OBE for services to higher education in Wales in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours.
=== Rankings and reputation ===
In 2017, the university entered the top five percent of universities in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
In the 2017 National Student Survey the university was placed equal 140th out of 149 universities and institutions surveyed.
The Complete University Guide 2016/7 ranked the university as 99th out of 127 UK universities; the ranking declined to 110th out of 129 UK Universities in 2017/8 but has since risen to 101st.
The university came 81st in the 2022 What Uni Awards
USW, along with all other Welsh universities, did not participate in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (a government assessment of the quality of undergraduate teaching in English universities and other higher education providers).
USW achieved its highest-ever ranking in the Guardian University Guide 2025, with the University being placed 51st of the 122 institutions on the list. The USW subject with the highest ranking, at fifth, was health professions, while law was USW’s highest climber in the Guide, up 31 places to 19th.
=== National Cyber Security Academy ===
In 2016, the university launched its National Cyber Security Academy. This academy is a joint venture with industrial partners and Welsh Government and has been recognised by the UK's national security organisation GCHQ.
=== Research ===
The university is one of Wales's five major universities and a member of the St David's Day Group. Its precursor institutions have been recognised for producing some world-leading and internationally excellent research in specialist areas, such as mechanical, aeronautical & manufacturing engineering, social work, social policy & administration, education, history, art and design, nursing and midwifery, architecture and the built environment, English language and …
