Welcome to Civil & Structural Engineering

Before you arrive

Part of the excitement of starting university is the chance to discover things for yourself and the freedom to explore a new city. We want to make your transition to university life as easy as possible so on this page, we're giving you some resources to help you prepare before you arrive in Sheffield.

Get ready for Sheffield by completing your to-do list tasks from this helpful student checklist

Make sure you’re registered

Registration is the number one task before starting your studies. You should have already received information separately about the registration process and related activities that are run centrally by the University. If you haven’t please go to the registration homepage to find out more. You must complete online registration prior to arriving in Sheffield. 

The deadline for registering is Monday 13 October to start your course, and the in person appointment deadline is Friday 18 October 2024.

Semester dates 2025 - 2026

You can find out all of the Semester dates for study in Sheffield here

Welcome Week

This is a week of events before teaching begins. It is full of important information and social events, so do make sure you attend. Your Welcome Week will begin on Monday 22 September 2025. 

Monday 22nd September

Time	Location	Activity
9.00 - 10.00	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	Welcome to the School Professor Sam Clarke   Introduction to Year 1 Paul Hulbert
10.00 - 10.30	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	Health, Safety and Wellbeing
10.30 - 11.00	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	Meet the Societies: Students Union CivSoc Women in Engineering Sheffield Formula Racing Architeers
11.30 - 13.00		Break
12.00 - 13.00	The Diamond, lecture theatre 8	Introductory Meeting for Architectural Engineering students
13.00 - 13.30	The Diamond, lecture theatre 8	Meet the Architeers
13.30 - 14.00	Heartspace, D Floor, Student Support Office	Collect 'Little Book of Thermofluids"
14.00 - 15.00	Online	Welcome to the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering Professor Martin Mayfield, Head of School

Tuesday 23rd September

Time	Location	Activity
14.00 - 17.00	38 Mappin Room G11	Interactive Icebreaker Activity

Wednesday 24th September

Time	Location	Activity
10.00 - 10.30	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	ELTC Introduction  overview of the support available for students  who do not speak English as a first language
10.30 - 11.00	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	MLTC Introduction  overview of the Modern Language Teaching Centre
11.00 - 12.00	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	Managing Student Expectations  Professor Sam Clarke
12.00 - 13.00	See allocated slot for time & location.	Meet your Personal Tutor You should only attend the session you've been assigned to.

Thursday 25th September

Time	Location	Activity
10.00 - 11.00	TBC	Introduction to Diamond labs
11.00 - 12.00	See allocated slot for time & location.	Meet your Personal Tutor You should only attend the session you've been assigned to.
12.00 - 13.00		Break
13.00 - 13.30	TBC	MASH Introduction
13.30 - 15.00	TBC	Diagnostic quiz

Friday 26th September

Time	Location	Activity
10.00 - 11.00	See allocated slot for time & location.	Meet your Personal Tutor You should only attend the session your have been assigned to.
11.00 - 13.00	Online you will need access to a computer	Consent, Race and Equality Sessions  please use this time to complete the online training sessions
12.00 - 13.00	The Diamond, lecture theatre 2	Race Conversations

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Reading list

Below is a list of books that previous students have found to give a useful introduction and background to civil engineering (and engineering in general), prior to starting at University.  We suggest selecting one or two titles that take your interest (but we do emphasise that these books are NOT required reading for the course – you don't have to buy any books before you come to Sheffield, and you will find copies of these in our library when you do).

Some places you might look for second hand books:
Abe Books, Amazon Marketplace, Biblio, Blackwells, Ebay

Maths revision

A good background in mathematics will make your first year at Sheffield easier and more enjoyable. If you want to revise, these Level Up Your Maths Skills pages provide an excellent revision opportunity available to you before you start officially as a University student. 

Laptop advice

In terms of equipment, we would recommend a laptop of a higher specification as most engineering types of programs require a higher specification.  Ideally, an i5 processor with 8GB of RAM should be enough but for future proofing and to be on the safe side, if budgets allow, we would recommend an i7 processor with at least 8GB of RAM.  Many engineering type software is limited to Windows operating systems.  Some do run with MAC OS but to avoid any compatibility issues in the future we would advise a Windows laptop of a medium to high specification.  An alternative option would be to run MAC OS and Windows as a dual boot system but this would need configuring and doesn't always run reliably. 

Software

The University offers great support to students, making available free of charge a wide range of software, including Microsoft Office, various programming suites, statistics and plotting packages, and referencing software for use on their own computers (click here for a full list).  You’ll be able access all of these once you have registered with the University.

Things to do when you arrive

Once you arrive in Sheffield and have registered, here are some things you should do:

• Visit the Students’ Union website and explore activities and societies that you can get involved with.
• Read the our Mechanical Engineering Students’ Handbook
• Learn more about the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service by watching this short online presentation.
• Familiarise yourself with the technologies you'll use for learning online. You can find more about these, and short introductions on the 301 Academic Skills Centre webpages. As a start, you should make sure you are familiar with Blackboard, Blackboard Collaborate and TurnitIn. You should also make sure that you are familiar with Google Mail and Google Calendar, and can find guides to these on the IT Services website.
• Watch the Library getting started guide
• Read the Library subject guide for Civil Engineering
• Take a look at the Uni Student Support Services available to you by visiting their web pages here.  And also the SU support pages here.
• Find out more about what digital resources are available to you.
• International Students - visit the ELTC web pages to see what English Language support is available to you.

Mental health support

Starting university is a huge change, and there may be times when you need some extra support.

Your guide to Sheffield

Whether you already live in Sheffield, or you're coming to us from elsewhere, there's plenty to see. From the stunning Peak District right on our doorstep to the trendiest cafes and bars, all the way to Tramlines music festival - we've got it all.

We have a full guide to Sheffield here, including food and drink, sports, arts and culture and how to get around.

Another guide can be found here, which includes information on our festivals, augmented reality art trail 'Look Up' and an alternative LGBTQ+ guide to the city. 

There are also maps of Sheffield and information on local public transport to help you traverse Sheffield once you arrive. In fact, we have a range of different maps to help you find your way around:

• Interactive campus map
• Gender neutral toilets map
• Prayer rooms & quiet spaces