Sheffield Hallam University

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.[4] In 1850, the School of Design was renamed Sheffield School of Art.[5]

In 1905, the City of Sheffield Training College (later renamed Sheffield City College of Education) on Collegiate Crescent admitted its first 90 students.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] In 1967, the Owen Building was completed.[9] Built in a functional 1960s design, it has since been modernised and comprehensively renovated with an atrium linking it to four adjacent buildings.[10] 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. In 1987 Sheffield City Polytechnic became a founding member of the Northern Consortium.[11]

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

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[12]), 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".[13] 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.[14]

Charles Street building

SHU's Owen Building (left) and Stoddart Building (right), part of the City Campus on Arundel Gate

Collegiate Campus, Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam Students' Union

In 2020, the university relaunched its structure moving away from four faculties and re-organising academic departments into colleges.[15]

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
  • Department of Finance, Accounting and Business Systems
  • Department of Management
  • Department of Service Sector Management
• Department of Computing
• Department of Engineering and Mathematics

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)

• Department of Art and Design
• Department of Media Arts and Communication
• Department of the Natural and Built Environment
• Sheffield Institute of Education (SIOE)
• Department of Education, Childhood and Inclusion
• Department of Teacher Education
• TESOL Centre (Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages)
• Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics
• Department of Humanities
• Department of Law and Criminology

College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences (HWLS)

Formerly the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing (HWB)

• Department of Allied Health Professions
• Department of Biosciences and Chemistry
• Department of Nursing and Midwifery
• Centre for Leadership
• Centre for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education
• Academy of Sport and Physical Activity
• Department of Social Work and Social Care and Community Studies

• Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC)
• Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre (BMRC)
• Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology (CBSCAP)
• 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)

• 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)

• 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

British barrister, broadcaster, and life peer of the House of Lords, Helena Kennedy, was installed as chancellor in a ceremony at Cutlers' Hall on Thursday 26 July 2018.[16]

• Bryan Nicholson 1992–2001[17]
• Robert Winston, 2001–2018
• Helena Kennedy, 2018–present

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

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.[23]

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.[24]

Adsetts Learning Centre