Swansea University (Welsh: Prifysgol Abertawe) is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes within the University of Wales. The new title of Swansea University was formally adopted on 1 September 2007 when the University of Wales became a non-membership confederal institution and the former members became universities in their own right. The Times university 2008 Top 100 league table listed the university as the 46th best university in the UK, up from 50th position in 2004 but down from 42nd in 2005. The university picked up the 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement Award for the UK's "best student experience".However, the survey was criticised by some, as it was carried out by the Student Panel making the sample self-selected and therefore unscientific. The university is also listed as one of the top 500 universities in the World at 401 to 500 in the 2006 Shanghai Jiao Tong University World Rankings.Additionally, the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement of World University Rankings places Swansea as 347th in the world, up from 401-500 in 2007. In July 2011, Vice-Chancellor Richard Davies unveiled at the Honorary Fellows’ Dinner a strategy agreed between Swansea University, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) to achieve Swansea’s ambitions to become a World top 200 institution. Swansea University is renowned for having one of the UK's best Engineering departments, and is particularly known for being the strongest British university for research in Computational Engineering. Swansea University's College of Engineering offers courses in Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Medical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Sports Science and Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Swansea University is also one of the few universities to offer the coveted EngD (Engineering Doctorate), a more industry orientated equivalent of the traditional PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy). The Times Good University Guide 2005 places Swansea second to Cambridge out of 45 universities for Civil Engineering. Civil Engineering at Swansea University continues to feature highly in UK university rankings, and in the latest Research Assessment it scored 3rd best in the United Kingdom, behind Cambridge University and Imperial College London.