Bangor University is a Welsh university 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 institutions of the former federal University of Wales. It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales (UCNW), and later as the University of Wales, Bangor (UWB) . From September 2007 it became known as Bangor University, having become independent from the federal University of Wales.