Research

Priority one: Research excellence

The University of Sheffield is a place where independent thinking meets shared ambition. Our research is significant, impactful and world-changing. Throughout 2024-25, our research community has been at the forefront of discoveries across all fields and at all scales - from city to continent and from cells to planets.

Collaborative working and thinking is at the centre of our research culture, with our academic community actively working across disciplines. This is most clearly embodied in our internationally recognised research centres and facilities, which harness our wealth of interdisciplinary expertise to help address the wide range of global challenges facing the world today. 

Beyond the University, we partner with organisations at all scales. From creating and working with spinout organisations that build upon ideas developed at the University to working with international and sector-leading organisations. The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC)–developing sustainable alternatives to animal proteins–is just one example where we are seeing higher education institutions, industry and government come together. 

This year, construction was completed on the Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) facility, delivering a significant boost to our research and collaborations with the aerospace industry. Jointly funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), Sheffield City Council, the University and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, the state-of-the-art facility will help meet future demand for lighter commercial aircraft and help the aviation industry reach net zero. 

Work has also started on the expansion to our Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN). This expansion will double the research capacity of our world-leading facility, designed to accelerate the progress of breakthrough treatments for neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Motor Neurone Disease. The £24 million expansion has been made possible through a combination of donations from trusts and foundations, alumni and supporters, and through fundraising involving friends and families of patients.

We have a reputation for conducting excellent research among academics, employers and businesses across the world, as reflected in our position as 92nd in the world and 15th in the UK in the top 100 of the QS World University Rankings. Our increasing research income and investment demonstrates our capabilities, and the trust and confidence held by funders and partners, in an increasingly complex funding environment.

In February 2025, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) showed that Sheffield attracted more research income and investment in engineering than any other UK university. For the two most recent reporting years, the University brought in £121 million in 2021-22 and £110 million in 2022-23, with our largest investors being the UK government, industry and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), demonstrating the crucial role that the University plays in driving innovation, growth and productivity in the North of England.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a key indicator of a university’s research performance through peer review of research submissions by panels of experts for specific fields. For the next assessment in 2029, several of the REF sub-panels will be led by Sheffield academics. Their selection is a reflection of their individual expertise and their standing in their respective fields.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield, and the technical and professional teams who support them, are passionate and driven in their chosen fields. We’ve improved how we recognise the contribution of research-enabling staff, from technicians to librarians and many others, through the introduction of the internationally-recognised CRediTtaxonomy, and we’re continuing to celebrate achievement across our research community through initiatives such as our Knowledge Exchange and Impact Awards.

Priority two: Postgraduate research students 

We are committed to creating a vibrant research culture for our postgraduate research (PGR) students and supporting them during their time at the University of Sheffield.

Our support provision for PGRs has continued to expand through our PGR wellbeing and support communities and our personalised Doctoral Development Programme. Our Removing Barriers conference looked at the challenges faced by PGRs with disabilities, how to thrive in their research and combat the stigma and fear of disclosure within the disabled PGR community.

We are dedicated to helping PGR students submit their theses within their funding period, reducing the stress of completing programmes without funding. This year, we’ve seen PGR thesis submission rates improve for the third year in a row and increase by 6.1 per cent.

We continue to listen and respond to feedback from our PGR community. Our latest PGR Voice survey showed that the vast majority (94.2 per cent) of PGRs had a positive experience, and almost 80 per cent reported a positive or very positive research culture in their school. They also reported significant improvements around the provision of training and development (78.4 per cent, up from 66.3 per cent in 2023), and we also saw an improvement in the experiences of our disabled PGRs.

Our PGR students continue to be recognised for the excellence of their work, including Doctoral Publishing Prize winners in Education, English, and Music, an Open Research Prize winner in Medicine and Population Health, and Improving Research Community Builder Award winners in Psychology and Medicine and Population Health.

Read more about our Research pillar and explore related case studies