The Welsh Agricultural College (WAC) was established in Aberystwyth, Wales in 1970 with David Morris as its first Principal. In 1995 it merged with Aberystwyth University.
In an unusual arrangement, the College was financed through a joint committee composed of representatives of all the Welsh local authorities. Its original mission was to provide vocational education in agriculture and for a number of years it provided National and Higher National Diploma courses. A Diploma took 4 years and included extensive work experience on farms. Later WAC diversified its provision to include courses in Countryside Management and Equine Studies. A degree scheme in Agriculture, offered jointly with the University of Wales Aberystwyth’s Department of Agricultural Sciences, was established in 1982.
Student from this period were typically those who had not gained places or who had applied too late to read agriculture at more established agricultural colleges. There were also several sons or daughters of Welsh farmers. The College had young lecturing staff, (including.... Wyn Jones and...), in contrast to the established institutions in England (Wye College, Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, Harper Adams, University of Reading etc.).
In 1995 the Welsh Agricultural College merged with the University of Wales, Aberystwyth's Department of Agricultural Sciences to form its Institute of Rural Studies, with Michael Haines appointed as its first Director. Former students of WAC include Eryl Jones, countryside columnist, champion of traditional breeds of British livestock and author of ‘The Full Moon and Herons Legs’.
It was later renamed the Institute of Rural Sciences. In 2008 it was merged with the university's Institute of Biological Sciences and the independent Institute of Grassland and Environmental Sciences (IGER)to form the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS).