University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University[7][8] or TUOS)[9][10] is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 and Sheffield Technical School in 1884.[1] University College of Sheffield was subsequently formed by the amalgamation of the three institutions in 1897 and was granted a royal charter as University of Sheffield in 1905 by King Edward VII.
Motto
Latin: Rerum cognoscere causas
To discover the causes of things
1905 – University of Sheffield
Predecessor institutions:
1828 – Sheffield Medical School
1879 – Firth College
1884 – Sheffield Technical School[1]
1897 – University College of Sheffield[2]
£47.1 million (2023)[3]
£880.2 million (2022/23)[3]
3,610 (2021/22)[5]
4,225 (2021/22)[5]
30,860 (2021/22)[6]
20,040 (2021/22)[6]
10,820 (2021/22)[6]
Urban
Black & gold
Sheffield is formed from 50 academic departments which are organised into five faculties and an international faculty. The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £880.2 million, of which £198.6 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £790.5 million.[3] Known for world-leading engineering research, the university leads collaboration with Harvard and MIT[11] and partnerships with over 125 companies including BAE Systems, Siemens, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Airbus at the 150-acre Advanced Manufacturing Park.[12] Sheffield ranks among the top 10 of UK universities for research grant funding,[13] and it has become number one in the UK for income and investment in engineering research according to new data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).[14]
The university is one of the original red brick universities and a founding member of the Russell Group. It is also part of the Worldwide Universities Network, the N8 Group of the eight most research intensive universities in Northern England and the White Rose University Consortium. Sheffield has been ranked in between 66th and 104th best university in the world by QS for the last fifteen years.[15] ARWU ranked Sheffield 9th overall in the UK[16] and THE ranked the university 22nd in Europe for teaching excellence.[17][18] According to the latest Research Excellence Framework 2021, Sheffield is ranked 11th in the UK for research power calculated by multiplying the institution's GPA by the total number of full-time equivalent staff submitted.[19]
There are six Nobel laureates affiliated with Sheffield, as either the alumni or former long-term staff of the university.[20] They are contributors to the development of penicillin, the discovery of the citric acid cycle, the investigation of high-speed chemical reactions, the discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA, the discovery of fullerene, and the development of molecular machines. Alumni also include several heads of state, Home Secretaries, Court of Appeal judges, Booker Prize winners, astronauts and Olympic gold medallists.
Organisation[edit]
Faculties and departments[edit]
Sheffield had four faculties in 1905, which were Arts, Pure Science, Medicine and Applied Science. The Faculty of Applied Science later split into Engineering and Metallurgy in 1919.[28] As well as educating full-time students, in the early 20th century, the university taught non-degree courses that covered non-conventional, occupation-focused subjects such as cow-keeping, railway economics, mining and razor-grinding.[28]
The university has currently five faculties comprising 50 departments and 82 research centres and institutes,[84] plus an international faculty.[85] The current faculty structure is:
National rankings
18=
21
18
151–200
105=
105
Controversies[edit]
Proposed closure of the Department of Archaeology[edit]
On 25 May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Sheffield Executive Board (UEB) including Vice Chancellor Koen Lamberts and Deputy Vice Chancellor Gill Valentine voted to close the Department of Archaeology and move two areas into other departments; a world leading institution since its formation in 1976.[207] The decision had been made through a commissioned Institutional Review process chaired by Valentine and was met with national and international outcry including a petition signed by over 40,000 people.[208] The decision was announced first on 19 May. The review process had begun in February 2022 led by Valentine.
Involvement with the arms trade[edit]
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre conducts a wide range of research projects including some funded by arms manufacturers such as BAE Systems.[12] In 2008, the university partnered with BAE Systems to launch a new Centre for Research in Active Control which aimed to improve the stealth of BAE Systems' submarines.[209] In 2012 the Students Union voted in favour of the university ending all links with the arms trade.[210]
In October 2022, students occupied 'The Diamond' over the university's alleged links with Rolls-Royce, and their involvement in arms manufacture.[211] This resulted in the closure of the building, with the occupiers refusing to leave until negotiations with the Vice-Chancellor commenced. Over the past eight years, the university has received some £47 million from Rolls-Royce.[212] The following month, the university hired a private investigator to investigate two students for "alleged misconduct" in relation to the protests.[213][214] In November 2023, students interrupted the opening ceremony of the university's newest building, in support of Palestine and in protest over the university's financial contracts with arms manufacturers, including BAE Systems, GKN and Boeing.[215]
In popular culture[edit]
A fictionalized version of the University of Sheffield is the setting of the award-winning comic book series, Giant Days. Comedy Love in the Time of Britpop is set at the university in the 1990s Cool Britannia era.[258] The university's Western Bank Library is featured in Barry Libin's novel Mystery of the Milton Manuscript.
Informational notes
Citations
Further reading
There are two official histories of the university:
