UK and 11th across Europe.
In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) Sheffield was ranked 11th for research power in the UK, moving up from 13th in REF2014, with 92% of the research submitted by the academic staff having been rigorously judged as world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). The university was one of only ten in the country to include more than 1500 staffs for the submissions in a wide range of subject areas. A number of areas of research at the University of Sheffield are in the top 10 nationally in terms of the assessment of their research and impact as world-leading or internationally excellent. Some highlights include: Physics and Astronomy – which achieved 100 per cent and came top for research and impact; Biological Sciences – which came in the top five with 98 per cent; Architecture, Built Environment and Planning – which came in the top three with 95 per cent and Engineering – which achieved 96 per cent and came in the top 10.
The University of Sheffield achieved global recognition for its academic strengths in specific fields. In 2023, it secured the top position for Library and Information Management and ranked 32nd for Architecture and Built Environment, along with a 42nd rank for Archaeology, according to QS. In the ARWU rankings of 2022, the university achieved 8th place in Geography and Urban Planning, 38th in Civil Engineering, and 46th in Ecology.
=== Admissions ===
The University of Sheffield has a total of 30,195 students in the 2018–19 academic year, including 19,610 undergraduates and 10,585 postgraduates. In terms of average UCAS points of entrants, Sheffield ranked 29th in Britain in 2014. The university gives offers of admission to 85.6% of its applicants, the 4th highest amongst the Russell Group.
According to the 2017 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, approximately 13% of Sheffield's undergraduates come from independent schools. In the 2016–17 academic year, the university had a domicile breakdown of 71:5:24 of UK:EU:non-EU students respectively …
