University of Sheffield

HISTORY

The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It received its royal charter in 1905 as successor to the University College of Sheffield, which was established in 1897 by the merger of Sheffield Medical School (founded in 1828), Firth College (1879) and Sheffield Technical School (1884).

Sheffield was placed 84th worldwide by The QS World University Rankings 2016. In 2011, Sheffield was named ‘University of the Year’ in the Times Higher Education awards. The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2014 ranked the University of Sheffield 1st for student experience, social life, university facilities and accommodation, among other categories.

It is one of the original red brick universities, a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, the Worldwide Universities Network, the N8 Group of the eight most research intensive universities in Northern England and the White Rose University Consortium. There are seven Nobel Prize laureates amongst Sheffield academics, six of which are its alumni or former staff.

The University of Sheffield was originally formed by the merger of three colleges. The Sheffield School of Medicine was founded in 1828, followed in 1879 by the opening of Firth College, which developed out of the Cambridge University Extension Movement scheme, by Mark Firth, a steel manufacturer, to teach arts and science subjects. Firth College then helped to fund the opening of the Sheffield Technical School in 1884 to teach applied science, the only major faculty the existing colleges did not cover. The Sheffield Technical School was founded because of local concern about the need for technical training, particularly steelmaking in Sheffield, and the school moved to St George’s Square in 1886. The three institutions merged in 1897 to form the University College of Sheffield by Royal Charter. Sheffield was the only large city in England without a University. Steelworkers, coal miners, factory workers and the people of Sheffield donated over £50,000 in 1904 to help found the University of Sheffield.

COURSES

The University has five faculties plus an International Faculty in Thessaloniki, Greece.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Sheffield’s A-level requirements range from AAA to ABB. See their admissions policy online.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

23 submissions to the Research Excellence Framework 2014 were judged to be in the top ten in the Russell Group for the quality of their research outputs.

The submission for biomedical sciences achieved particularly outstanding results, coming top in the UK in its Unit of Assessment for subjects allied to healthcare. History, Politics, and Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, were each ranked third best in the country.

A further six departments were judged to be in the top five: Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre), Education and Architecture, Landscape and Town and Regional Planning. Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Law and Music were ranked in the top ten amongst other UK higher education institutions.

Teaching informed by latest research developments.

TEACHING STANDARDS

The last Teaching Quality Assessment awarded us grades of ‘excellent’ in 29 subject areas, a record equalled by only a few other UK universities.

The UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education places Sheffield in the highest category for quality.

CAREERS GUIDANCE

Right from the first year of the degree, their Careers Service can help the student work out what it want to do and how to get there.

Their specialist advisers can show them what employers are looking for and how to market yourself – not just their skills and subject knowledge but their personality and their achievements outside the classroom.

They also provide opportunities throughout their course to meet employers offering placements, jobs and work experience.