Sheffield Hallam University

By ALASTAIR MCCALL, DAILY MAIL UNIVERSITY GUIDE EDITOR Published: 13:07, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 13:07, 12 August 2026 Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Three buildings opening in 2025 significantly improved teaching, learning and research facilities for many students at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). Located on two sites in the heart of Sheffield, SHU is also spreading its brand to London, opening a new campus in Brent Cross in 2027. The developments on City Campus have created new homes for Sheffield Business School, the Institute of Law and Justice, Institute of Social Sciences and for architecture students within the Institute of Creative Industries. The buildings have been constructed around Hallam Green, a new central green space with seating for up to 150 people. The development includes food venues, social spaces and two rooftop gardens for students as well as the university's not-for-profit legal practice, Hallam Legal Advice Centre. The business school includes an engagement area and a trading floor equipped with industry-standard software. Business, nursing and healthcare, computing and teacher training are among the key subject offerings. SHU is one of the largest providers of earn-while-you-learn degree apprenticeships with 3,300 apprentices enrolled. Unlike most regional universities, SHU is offering more than 660 places in student accommodation at its London outpost, all set in parks and green spaces, along with restaurants, cafes, sports facilities and outdoor social areas. Subject areas include accounting and finance, business, computing, law, psychology and public health. SHU will hope the opening will help reverse a downward trend in both applications and admissions, which hit ten-year lows in September 2025. This is despite students voting it among the overall top five universities in the UK in this year's Whatuni Student Choice Awards, even finishing top for cost-of-living support. Sheffield is one of the great student cities - cheaper than most and with a great nightlife. Your browser does not support iframes. The bulk of Sheffield Hallam's financial support is dispensed via its Student Success Scholarships. Valued between £600 and £2,100, these are open to students from homes with an annual income of up to £62,377. Most are towards the lower end of that scale, and the university warns on its website that there was less money in the pot for the awards in the 2025-26 academic year than there was in 2024-25. At the time of going to press, SHU had not confirmed payment scales for 2026-27. Priority for the awards is given to final-year students and those on high-cost or high-intensity courses, alongside the more standard prioritisation of care leavers and carers, estranged students, those with disabilities, transgender and non-binary people, student parents, and those from black, Asian and other ethnic minorities. The more boxes ticked, the higher the award. A total of 3,595 Student Success awards were made in 2024-25. A Placement Bursary of £500 helps offset some of Hallam's £1,958 placement year tuition fees for students from homes with an annual household income of £62,410 or less. Care leavers get the maximum Student Success Scholarship, topped up by an additional £1,500 per year of study (making £3,600 in all). Students in extreme need received £310,000 in hardship awards in 2024-25. Although Sheffield Hallam does not own or manage any university residential accommodation, it has access to 3,114 beds through nomination agreements with privately owned halls. These range from £96 per week, or £4,224 per year, for an en suite room in the Trigon on a 44-week contract to £185 per week, or £8,140 per year, for a single room in a three or four-bedroom flat in The Gate, also on a 44-week deal. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Admissions, teaching and student support SHU's commitment to its region and local area is backed up by its contextual admissions scheme, which makes offers of up to 16 UCAS points (two A-level grades) below standard entry requirements to all local applicants with homes in eight postcode areas: S (Sheffield), DN (Doncaster), SK (Stockport), LN (Lincoln), DE (Derby), NG (Nottingham), WF (Wakefield) and HD (Huddersfield). Black applicants and those from homes with annual income of £25,000 or less are also eligible. And the scheme extends to applicants from other postcodes where progression to higher education is low, as well as mature applicants, those with disabilities, those from military families, those who have been in care or who have caring responsibilities and those estranged from their parents. Applicants from these latter groups, and also black British prospective students, are eligible for Hallam Progress - an application and transition to university support scheme that encourages progression to university-level study among groups that are under-represented on campus. Once enrolled, Hallam Help offers a one-stop service for all student enquiries and a first contact point for students seeking guidance on wellbeing and mental health issues. This can be contacted by telephone, email and online webchat, as well as in person on campus to get advice or make an appointment with specialist advisers. The student wellbeing service offers extensive information, tools and personalised support to help them manage their psychological wellbeing. This includes workshops for yoga, peer support, mindfulness, meditation and bereavement, and six-session therapeutic groups covering art therapy, compassion-focused therapy and life skills for proactive mental health. All students are required to attend three compulsory induction sessions: Welcome to your Course (giving an overview of courses and expectations), Success and Support (outlining the support available and expected student behaviours) and Meet your Coursemates (a social and ice-breaking session).