Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University is one of the UK’s largest and most diverse universities: a community of around 35,000 students, 4,500 staff and 295,000 alumni around the globe.

Our mission is simple: We transform lives.

We provide people from all backgrounds with the opportunity to acquire the skills, knowledge and experience to succeed at whatever they choose to do.

As one of the UK’s largest and most progressive universities, our teaching, research and partnerships are characterised by a focus on real world impact - addressing the health, economic and social challenges facing society today.

We are ambitious for our university, our students, our colleagues, our partners, our city and our region. Our vision is to be the world's leading applied university; showing what a university genuinely focused on transforming lives can achieve.

Who we are?

Founded in 1843 as the Sheffield School of Design, Sheffield Hallam has exercised a powerful impact on the city, region, nation and world. Today we are one of the UK’s largest and most diverse universities: a community of around 35,000 students, 4,500 staff and 295,000 alumni around the world.

Our students:

The strength of our student cohort is in its diversity - matched by our commitment as a university to providing opportunity:

• Around 25,000 are undergraduate, 6,000 postgraduate
• Around 40% come from within 25 miles of the university
• Around 10% are international students
• 53% of our students are the first in their family to attend university
• 23% are from low participation neighbourhoods - (national average is 12%)
• In 2019/20, 1,300 new students were enrolled from low participation neighbourhoods - the most of any higher education provider in the country.
• The University ranks 6th amongst all UK universities for the overall number of graduates in highly skilled jobs, with 1,520 graduates from 2019/20 in highly skilled graduate-level jobs.

Our teaching:

Our committed staff provide award-winning teaching and student support for our diverse population of students.

We provide our students with a curriculum designed for collaboration and cross-disciplinary learning, courses which are designed with industry experts, embedded work experience opportunities, digital skills pathways, and placement years. This includes a guarantee that all of our students will gain a placement during their degree through our award-winning Highly Skilled Employability strategy.

This commitment to applied learning and teaching means:

• We are one of the biggest trainers of healthcare staff for the NHS in the country
• We train around 1,000 teachers a year (across degree stages) - with around 600 entering the workforce each year (60% of which in South Yorkshire)
• We are home to the largest modern business school in the country, with more than 7,000 students from 100 countries, studying at five locations around the globe.
• Our National Centre of Excellence for Degree Apprenticeships has the biggest portfolio of degree apprenticeships in the UK
• 94% of students are in work or further study 15 months after graduating, this is more than any other post-1992 university in the country, and second amongst all UK universities. (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2018-19)
• Student satisfaction score of 70% (National Student Survey, 2021)
• Silver award from the government's Teaching Excellence Framework
• In top 10 European universities for both student engagement and environment by the Times Higher Education Europe Teaching Rankings 2018
• Five stars in the QS Star rating, achieving top marks in the categories of teaching, employability, facilities, innovation and inclusiveness
• We were named Outstanding Entrepreneurial University at the THE Awards 2021

Our research:

Our research and innovation work is characterised by a focus on real-world impact. Working across disciplines in world-class facilities, our academics tackle challenges facing society today.

Our research focuses on three key themes: driving future economies, enabling healthier lives and building stronger communities. We have an international reputation in areas such as materials science, art and design, sports science and engineering, biomedicine, and economic and social research – all delivered through our research institutes. This contributes to our standing in the Research Excellence Framework (REF):

In REF 2021, 72% of our research submitted was rated world-class or internationally excellent (REF)

Our place:



We are proudly a university of place - locally, nationally and internationally.

This commitment to place - and with it, opportunity - means we are a leader in widening access to higher education to students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds.

• We have admitted more students from neighbourhoods with historically low numbers going to university than any other provider in the UK for years in a row
• Our widening participation team works with more than 1,100 educational settings and engages with more than 60,000 young people in our region every year
• Alongside the University of Sheffield, we run the Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire (HeppSY), to support young people most at risk of missing out on higher education
• Whilst the university is grounded in its city and region, we are also proud of our global reach.

Our global community of international students, staff and partnerships spans 120 countries

We have partnerships with more than 100 universities in countries around the world

In 2019, we announced our first formal strategic international partnership with La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. This provides international learning experiences, collaborative research opportunities and sharing of good practice and approaches to higher education across borders.

We are a university that is ambitious for others. A place where people can be inspired to realise their potential and begin life-changing journeys. Where innovation is sparked by curiosity, and collaboration means working together to solve problems and challenge the status quo. An inclusive community that stands up for equality and speaks up for diversity. An open-minded place, where everyone can thrive and belong. This is what makes us Sheffield Hallam University.

Standard entry requirements:

All of our courses require different levels of qualifications for entry and the details provided below are for general guidance only.

English language requirements:

All applicants are required to gain a recognised English language qualification before entering any of our courses. For pre-sessional English programmes and courses below degree level, this must be one from a list of UK government recognised tests, most commonly IELTS. For degree level programmes (bachelors, masters and PhD), we consider a wide range of international qualifications. 

International Foundation Programme:

The following qualifications will be considered for entry on to our International Foundation Programme.

• IELTS certificate from an approved centre (IELTS score of 4.5 or above)
• Good high school graduation grades which include maths

Undergraduate programmes:

The following qualifications will be considered for entry on to undergraduate programmes

• two GCE/VCE A level passes
• High School Leaving Certificate, which is recognised as equivalent to A level standard
• other international qualifications gained after 13 years of secondary/further education

Sheffield Hallam welcomes applications from international school students taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma and those achieving 28 points or more will usually be successful in obtaining an offer of a place on our undergraduate programmes. 

Postgraduate taught programmes (masters):

The following qualifications will be considered for entry on to postgraduate taught programmes

• a first degree or professional qualification recognised as being equivalent to degree standard
• an HND or higher education diploma with substantial work experience in an appropriate field
• successful completion of a recognised pre-Masters course

Postgraduate research programmes:

The following qualifications will be considered for entry on to postgraduate research programmes (MPhil/PhD)

• masters degree from a recognised university

In most cases, students are required to submit a full application for PhD study, including a formal research proposal.

Additionally, entry requirements may vary from country to country. Kindly contact our admissions team for more information!