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The Aberystwyth 'No Assembly' Campaign was privately organized by a group of members within the Ceredigion constituency Labour Party in 1979 at the time of the referendum on Devolution. Michael Hughes, a history lecturer at the University of Wales Aberystwyth, was the secretary of the campaign.

The Association was founded on 2 March 1892 at a gathering of former students in Aberystwyth to mark St David's Day. The first President was T. E. Ellis MP, who had played a leading part some twelve years earlier in forming what was called the Aberystwyth College Club at Oxford, an organisation which has some claim to be the precursor of Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym at that university. Throughout its history the Association has provided for its members the means of maintaining friendships established during their student days and of supporting the College to which they feel a strong attachment. These twin aims are reflected in the OSA's activities, be they social gatherings, fund raising efforts or, when necessary, joining in robust defence of the College. An account of the Association's history appeared in the centenary edition of the Annual in 1992, entitled 'Fair may your future be: the story of the Aberystwyth Old Students' Association, 1892-1992'. Off-prints of this article are held in the Archive, and copies may be obtained from the Secretary. Membership of the Association has risen sharply in recent years. In 1922 there were 329 life members; in 1939 there were 570; by 1960 the figure had grown to 898, and now there are over 7,000. There are nine branches in various parts of Wales and England, one in Northern Ireland and four overseas. A Reunion is held every Easter in Aberystwyth, the hundredth of which took place in 1999. A travel club organises holidays for members in many parts of the world. Public Lectures are organised on a regular basis - the Llandaff Lectures at Howell's School in Cardiff and the Llandovery Lectures at Llandovery College. Substantial sums have been raised to support the work of the College, the most recent effort being the Association's Centenary Appeal, which raised a total of £87,800 to finance the purchase of a state-of-the-art language laboratory.

The Aberystwyth Peace Network, Cardiganshire, was founded in 1982 to co-ordinate various peace groups in Ceredigion, including the Anti-Falklands War Campaign CAAT (Campaign Against the Arms Trade), and Aberystwyth CND. It established links with Greenpeace and the Greenham Common Peace Camp. It has recently changed its name to Aberystwyth Peace and Justice Network.

Established in 1872, the University College of Aberystwyth was a founding member of the former federal University of Wales. Its establishment was prompted by the inadequacies of the further education system in Wales during the nineteenth century. The main concern was the absence of a university, apart from the country's various theological colleges. The campaign for a university began in the early 1850s, but was sidetracked by the foundation of a teaching college in Bangor. In 1863, it was revived by one of the university's most prominent supporters, Sir Hugh Owen. As leader of the campaign, he felt that its failure to capture the public imagination had caused great damage and that by this point the establishment of a university was a matter of great urgency.

In 1867, Owen and his collaborators made a decisive move and bought, with the little money they had raised, an unfinished, recently bankrupted hotel on the Aberystwyth sea front. It was hoped that the physical existence of a home for the university would encourage people to join the campaign. Appeals were made to the public for personal contributions and the people of Wales, especially the inhabitants of Aberystwyth, quickly responded. As a result of this popular effort in collecting 'the pennies of the poor', the university finally did become a reality. It opened at what is now the Old College, in 1872, with a mere 25 students and was formally incorporated by Royal Charter in 1889.

The University's initial mission was limited - merely the establishment in Wales of a non-denominational university to bring education to the masses. The first Principal, Thomas Charles Edwards (1872-91), saw the university through its infancy. He steered it through the disastrous implications of the 1881 Aberdare report on Intermediate and Higher Education in Wales, ensuring its survival despite the establishment of University Colleges in Bangor for North Wales and Cardiff for South Wales. 1894 saw the unification of all three colleges into the University of Wales. Edwards also ensured that the college survived the testing times that followed the fire of 1885, co-ordinating the resultant re-building programme.

Subsequent years saw a continuous increase in both students and members of staff at Aberystwyth. The range of subjects taught also rapidly expanded. Halls of residence and new facilities were being built and student societies were also appearing and developing, providing a busy social life for Aberystwyth students. The work of academic departments also developed from the original remit of teaching students, to the conduction of ground-breaking research noted on both a national and international scale. Today, the University of Wales Aberystwyth has over 7,000 registered students, including over 1,100 postgraduates, across eighteen academic departments.

As of the 1st of October 2007, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth changed its name to Aberystwyth University. The Privy Council has approved Aberystwyth University's new charter and statutes which includes powers to award its own degrees. Despite the name change, Aberystwyth University will continue to award University of Wales degrees and the new status does not, in any way, affect degrees awarded to past students or the programmes being followed by current students.

Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire, became a town and a borough in the 13th century (there is a charter of 1277). Until 1834, when the borough was reconstituted, the town was governed by a court leet, which met twice a year. Its main functions were the admittance of new burgesses, the appointment of bailiffs, bellmen, coroners, the chamberlains, town clerks, scavengers, and the hearing of presentments. The leet was also responsible for the management of paving, cleansing and lighting within Aberystwyth. In 1780, an Act was obtained to repair, enlarge and to preserve Aberystwyth Harbour. The Harbour Committee became responsible for the harbour in 1873. In the 1850s, the borough established its own Burial Board to administer the local cemeteries. The public library was established around 1874. From 1835, Improvement Commissioners oversaw lighting, sanitation and water supply.