Deep local roots and global appeal mark out Sheffield, runner-up for The Sunday Times University of the Year 2025. The Yorkshire institution attracted record applications in 2023 (43,665) and is enjoying soaring rates of student satisfaction, partly thanks to an award-winning students’ union. A welcoming, wallet-friendly city helps to make it a crowd-pleaser with undergraduates, while its academic clout is underlined by six Nobel prizewinners among its former students and staff. At 14th, Sheffield is up four places year-on-year in our competitive top 20. The university pioneered the first medical use of penicillin by 1930 and continues to shape the modern world. Its highly regarded Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre researches sustainable fuels while the Translational Energy Research Centre is looking into carbon capture technologies. 

What is the University of Sheffield’s reputation? 

Founded in 1905, Sheffield evolved from three 19th-century institutions: Sheffield Medical School, Firth College and Sheffield Technical School. The university joined the research-intensive Russell Group in 1994 and excelled in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), in which 92 per cent of its work was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. In our research rankings it is 15th. Sheffield is just outside the global top 100 in the QS World University Rankings 2025 (105th) and applications from abroad have been increasing in recent years.  

Top-notch feedback in the National Student Survey is rare among Russell Group universities but Sheffield bucks the trend, in our analysis, ranking ninth for satisfaction with the student experience (up from 28th in our previous edition) and 26= for teaching quality (up 21 places). Recent campus improvements, including investment in health and wellbeing, may explain why contentment has grown. 

In the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), Sheffield gained silver overall, with silver for the student experience and student outcomes. Assessors identified as outstanding “a supportive learning environment” and said “students have access to outstanding quality academic support”.

What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?

Degrees in electrical engineering and electronic engineering have been withdrawn. The first students of a new integrated master's in biochemistry with an industrial placement year started in 2024. 

What are the entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?

Degree courses demand grades from BBB up to A*AA at A-level. In 2023, just over 10 per cent received a contextual offer up to two grades lower, or three grades lower for entrants who have completed a widening access summer school. Nine per cent of students got a place through clearing in 2023.

What are the graduate prospects?

The university rises another two places to 22nd in our graduate prospects table this year after an eight-place jump last year. According to the Graduate Outcomes survey, 82.9 per cent of leavers were in highly skilled jobs or postgraduate study 15 months after receiving their degrees. Sheffield is a go-to recruiting ground for employers — the 12th most-targeted university by the largest number of top employers, according to the High Fliers report 2023-24. The university nurtures its relationships with industry: a longstanding partnership with Siemens has made Sheffield its leading UK supplier of graduates, who take part in hackathons, curriculum engagement and internships. The growing Civil Service Policy Campus in Sheffield provides local job opportunities too and an established link with Rolls-Royce produces apprenticeship, internship and graduate programmes.

What is the University of Sheffield campus like?

Sheffield’s main university precinct stretches for a mile, ending near the city centre. Ongoing upgrades to facilities include extra architecture studio spaces in the Arts Tower building, “phantom head” simulators for dentistry students and new learning spaces for computer science within the Diamond, the flagship building at the Faculty of Engineering. The medical school’s main lecture theatre has new audio-visual equipment. History, philosophy, archaeology and the Digital Humanities Institute have been brought under one roof at 9 Mappin Street, to support collaborative working. The £23 million Information Commons operates 24/7 library and computing services. 

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, east of the city, has another £20 million base 70 miles away in Preston — AMRC North West — as part of the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone in Lancashire.

Everything you need to know about the University of Sheffield’s student life and wellbeing support

A characterful city peppered with independent shops, bars and cafés — as well plenty of student-friendly chains — Sheffield is only a short hop from the stunning Peak District National Park.

The university takes a proactive approach to student wellbeing, encouraging participation in sport and physical activity and nurturing communities through more than 350 clubs and societies. Annual participation grants of up to £150 are available for eligible students from low-income households, those with a disability or who have children, or forced migrants. Support is available from personal tutors and faith and belief advisers. Unusually, the university’s GP practice is designated a department and has its own research and training clinic, and provides professional help for any mental health issues. 

Sheffield has one of the biggest university sports leagues and is 25th in the latest British Universities and Colleges sport (Bucs) overall points table. Excellent sports facilities near the main precinct include an upgraded 180-piece gym, six floodlit synthetic turf pitches, a swimming pool and a sports hall. Outdoor pitches for rugby, football and cricket are a bus ride away. Scholarships for elite student athletes contribute to the university’s high-performance sports record.

Sheffield’s Heritage Collections offer students access to rare books, artworks and exhibits at two campus museums: the Turner Museum of Glass and the Alfred Denny Museum of Zoology. 

What do the students say?  

“Vibrant and fun, Sheffield has green spaces and parks on the doorstep. The university is home to the No 1 students’ union in the UK, where you can develop new interests, make connections, and access help and support whenever it’s needed. The rising cost of living has made it harder to be a student, but thankfully Sheffield is a relatively cheap city to live in, especially for housing, and there is always something to do for free or a low cost.”
Lily Byrne, Sheffield students’ union president and biology graduate  

What about student accommodation at the University of Sheffield?

Sheffield’s accommodation guarantee goes the extra mile, giving a place in halls to all first-years who apply by the end of August — even those who enter through clearing. Rents are among the most affordable around, with 46 rooms available at the lowest price of £96.11 a week. 

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Sheffield?

Of the 21 Russell Group universities in England and Wales, only Cardiff and Queen Mary, University of London recruit more students from non-selective state schools than Sheffield (77.7 per cent). It ranks 87th overall in our social inclusion index — second in the Russell Group. The university’s longstanding commitment to widening participation includes outreach initiatives that aim to raise expectations among students across the UK and to help them develop the skills they need to study at a research-intensive university. 

Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Sheffield

The number of bursaries that Sheffield awards is not capped, and a third of entrants in 2024 were expected to qualify for one. Students from households with an income of £40,000 or less are eligible for awards of £250 up to £1,000 a year. Students who live in deprived areas, or within a Sheffield city region that has low progression to university, qualify for an extra £250 a year. There is extra support for care leavers, student carers and students who are estranged from their family. 

Merit-based scholarships include more than 250 Experience Sheffield scholarships of £3,600, awarded to successful academic applicants whose household incomes are no higher than £50,000, and 75 International Undergraduate Merit scholarships.