Sheffield Hallam University

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox university Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away in the Broomhall Estate off Ecclesall Road in south-west Sheffield. A third campus at Brent Cross Town in the London Borough of Barnet is expected to open for the 2025–26 academic year.

The university is the [[List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment|Template:HESA student population rank largest]] university in the UK (out of Template:HESA total) with Template:HESA student population students (of whom 4,400 are international students),<ref name="HESA citation"/> 4,494 staff and 708 courses.

History

Foundation and growth

In 1843, as the industrial revolution gathered pace and Sheffield was on the verge of becoming the steel, tool and cutlery making capital of the world, the Sheffield School of Design was founded following lobbying by artist Benjamin Haydon. The day-to-day running was controlled by the local council, whilst the Board of Trade in London appointed the head. Tuition began in a 60x40ft rented room off Glossop Road.<ref>Basford, John A School of Art is Beginning, From Sheffield Government School of Design to Sheffield Hallam University, Part 1 1843–1963, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, p. 3</ref> In 1850, the School of Design was renamed Sheffield School of Art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1905, the City of Sheffield Training College (later renamed Sheffield City College of Education) on Collegiate Crescent admitted its first 90 students.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the First World War, the Collegiate Hall was requisitioned by the War Office to create the 3rd Northern General Hospital, a facility for the Royal Army Medical Corps to treat military casualties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A new city centre campus was constructed during the 1960s. During construction, in February 1962, a tower crane on site collapsed during the Great Sheffield Gale. It crashed into the side of what would become the Owen Building, causing serious damage and setting back construction.<ref name="the times">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1967, the Owen Building was completed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Built in a functional 1960s design, it has since been modernised and comprehensively renovated with an atrium linking it to four adjacent buildings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1969 the Sheffield School of Design merged with the city's College of Technology to form Sheffield Polytechnic. In 1976, Sheffield Polytechnic merged with the city's two teacher training colleges (Sheffield City College and Totley Hall College) and was renamed Sheffield City Polytechnic. From 1979 to 1988 students from Sheffield City Polytechnic were based at Wentworth Woodhouse,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> near Rotherham. Two departments, Physical Education and Geography and Environmental Studies, were based on site. In 1987 Sheffield City Polytechnic became a founding member of the Northern Consortium.<ref name="ncuk.ac.uk">see Template:Cite web</ref>

University status to present day

In 1992, Sheffield City Polytechnic became Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), with the right to award its own degrees.

File:Sheffield Hallam University.jpg
Sheffield Hallam University

In 2005, SHU was reorganised into four faculties. The new Faculty of Development and Society, with an emphasis on 'people, places and spaces', brought together education, geography, humanities, law, and social sciences. At the same time, with the intention of further developing research and teaching in the new Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, a new Clinical Academic Group was launched. The building that had been designed and constructed to house the National Centre for Popular Music became the university's students' union building (the HUBS). The Nelson Mandela Building, the former students' union building (when opened in 1978 was known as the Phoenix building<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), was sold and has since been demolished.

In 2007, SHU took over the teaching of nursing and midwifery from the University of Sheffield. These activities are now based at the Collegiate Crescent Campus. The following year the Psalter Lane campus (formerly the Sheffield College of Art) was closed, and the activities transferred to the City Campus. The £26 million energy-efficient Furnival Building opened in September (renamed Cantor Building in 2011 in recognition of a major donor to the university). The building, which includes teaching spaces and an art gallery has been described as "the impressive new entry point to the campus".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> For the 2025–26 academic year, the University expects to open its London campus at the Brent Cross Town development in the London Borough of Barnet. The campus will accommodate up to 5,000 students by 2030.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Organisation and governance

Colleges

File:Sheffield Hallam University buildings.jpg
Charles Street building
File:SHU buildings.png
SHU's Owen Building (left) and Stoddart Building (right), part of the City Campus on Arundel Gate
File:Collegiate Campus, SHU.jpg
Collegiate Campus, Sheffield Hallam University
File:SHU Students Union 30 Oct 2017 2.jpg
Sheffield Hallam Students' Union

In 2020, the university relaunched its structure moving away from four faculties and re-organising academic departments into colleges.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

College of Business, Technology and Engineering (BTE)

Formerly known as the Sheffield Business School and prior to that the Faculty of Organisation and Management (OM). The new college incorporated parts of the old Faculty Science, Technology and Arts (STA) previously known as the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences (ACES)

  • Sheffield Business School
  • School of Computing and Digital Technologies
  • School of Engineering and Built Environment

College of Social Sciences and Arts (SSA)

Formerly known as the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). The new college incorporated parts of the old Faculty Science, Technology and Arts (STA) previously known as the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences (ACES)

  • Sheffield Creative Industries Institute
  • Sheffield Institute of Social Sciences
  • Sheffield Institute of Law and Justice
  • Sheffield Institute of Education

College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences (HWLS)

Formerly the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing (HWB)

  • School of Biosciences and Chemistry
  • School of Health and Social Care
  • School of Sport and Physical Activity

Research

Research centres

  • Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC)
  • Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre (BMRC)
  • Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology (CeBSAP)
  • Centre for Development and Research in Education (CDARE)
  • Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR)
  • Centre for Sport and Exercise Science (CSES)
  • Centre for Sports Engineering Research (CSER)
  • Design Futures Centre for Industrial Collaboration (Design Futures)
  • Humanities Research Centre (HRC)
  • Lab4Living
  • National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE)
  • Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC)
  • Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (SPARC)

Research institutes

  • Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute (C3RI)
    • Art, Design and Media Research Centre (ADRC)
    • Communication and Computing Research Centre (CCRC)
  • Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI)
    • Centre for Automation and Robotics Research (CARR)
    • National HIPIMS Technology Centre
    • Polymers, Nanocomposites and Modelling Research Centre
    • Structural Materials and Integrity Research Centre
    • Thin Films Research Centre
  • Sheffield Business School Research Institute (SBSRI)
  • Sheffield Institute for Policy Studies (SIPS)
  • Sheffield Institute of Education (SIoE)

Groups and networks

  • Voluntary Action Research Group
  • Film, Television, Theatre and Performance Research Network
  • Health and Social Care Research
  • Law Research Group
  • Natural and Built Environment Research Group
  • Outdoor Recreation Research Group
  • Physical Activity, Wellness and Public Health Research Group (PAWPH)
  • Sheffield Addiction Research Recovery Group
  • Sport and Human Performance Research Group
  • Sports Engineering Research Group
  • Sports Industry Research Group

Through the research centres a number of spin-off companies have been formed, including:

  • Sheaf Solutions – automotive and aerospace organisation
  • Hallam Biotech – biotech analysis and synthesis
  • Materials Analysis & Research Services (MARS) – materials analysis and solutions
  • Bodycote – materials coating
  • Design Futures – product design, packaging design, research & strategy

Chancellors

The position is currently vacant following the death of Uriah Rennie on 8 June 2025, who had been installed as Chancellor in a ceremony at the university on Thursday 8 May 2025.<ref name="Premier League trailblazer and community champion set to become university Chancellor" />

Academic profile

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Lifelong Learning Network

SHU is the lead partner for Higher Futures, the Lifelong Learning Network (LLN) for South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire.

Rankings and reputational issues

In the National Student Survey, several subject areas at SHU have performed very well in terms of overall student satisfaction with their courses: for example, architecture and geography have both been placed first, and planning has been placed second.

In the university league tables, Sheffield Hallam University was placed 47th out of 121 UK universities by The Guardian University Guide 2021; 65th out of 131 by The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020; and 67th out of 130 by the Complete University Guide 2021. In 2019, it ranked 485th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hallam received a First Class award and was ranked 15th out of 151 universities in the People & Planet University League 2015 which assesses universities on their environmental credentials. In 2020, the university was awarded The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year award for teaching quality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, the university's vice-chancellor taken some pride in Laura Murphy's research into Uyghur forced labour in China, even though this might reduce the number of Chinese students at the university.<ref name="gruniad">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2025, the university apologised to Murphy, after she had been told that she could not continue her research into human rights abuses in China.<ref name="bbc1">Template:Cite web</ref> The instruction for Laura Murphy to halt her research came six months after the Sheffield Hallam university decided to abandon the planned report on the risk of Uyghur forced labour in the critical minerals supply chain, and return the funding associated with that research to the original grantor, Global Rights Compliance.<ref name="gruniad" /> UK counter-terrorism police subsequently commenced an investigation into the matter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On November 2025, it was announced that the foreign affairs select committee’s inquiry into review of UK-China relations was to be broadened after Sheffield Hallam University disclosures.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Adsetts Centre, Sheffield Hallam University - geograph.org.uk - 1622293.jpg
Adsetts Learning Centre

Notable alumni

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File:SheffieldHallamNight.jpg
Entrance to Sheffield Hallam University at night
File:Collegiate Crescent.jpg
Collegiate Crescent campus

Notable staff

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See also

References

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