Official University of Sheffield 2022 Applicant Thread

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Firstly the quality of teaching of the course has been phenomenal. We are taught by leading researchers in their fields who are so knowledgeable and always willing to help with any queries. There is a high level of cutting edge research being undertaken at the university and Biological Sciences at Sheffield has only been going up in the rankings since I joined (it was 16th in 2017 and has moved up to 11th now). In second year, many students have the chance to take part in the SURE scheme, where you will be working on a research project with one of the researchers!

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What I love most about the course at Sheffield is how broad it is, we learn a range of modules in our first year, which gives us a strong foundation and then have a lot of module choice in our second and third year. In third year, you will also have a chance to specialize through a particular route (Stem cell and cancer bio, neuroscience, physiology and pharmacology or development). You can find out more about modules here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/prospectus/courseDetails.do?id=B9002020

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The Sheffield course is not accredited, purely because the focus of the course is on research rather than working as a biomedical scientist in a hospital lab.

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The department have a huge capacity and student intake is usually 200 per year. Despite this, I still feel like I had constant contact with staff. We have tutorials every 3 weeks and personal tutor meetings a few times a semester. In fact, during lockdown, I have had personal tutor meetings once a week via video call! If you have questions you can always ask them after the lecture or email the lecturer.

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We get a lot of external academic support. In first year I went to peer assisted study sessions and then became a peer assisted study sessions leader in my second year. There is an academic skills centre which holds free events (e.g. note taking, essay writing etc.).

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I also love how much the department cares about its students and acknowledges their concerns. I have been on the student staff committee for three years and have been involved in making several big decisions like removing negative marking and changing the tutorial system. A lot of change has been implemented because of the feedback of students, and for me that is something that I really appreciate. The Biomedical Science student staff committee won the annual academic awards in 2019! The department have been incredible during the transition to online teaching, we were always having meetings to ensure that the students were happy and changes were put in place if not.

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I found the anatomy module a once in a lifetime experience! Sheffield is one of the only unis to offer cadaveric dissection for Biomedical Science, and I definitely think it is the best way to learn anatomy. If you're looking into post grad medicine, then that is something that may be particularly helpful for you and give you a head start in graduate entry medicine!

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A lot of students have done post grad medicine. One of the things that Sheffield offers is a collaboration with the medical school to do the Patients as Educators module. I did this module this year, and got to interview 3 cancer patients about their condition for my dissertation, it was an invaluable way to get patient contact. In third year, there is also the option to do medical modules which can give you more clinical focus.

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The course also has a compulsory careers module in second year, where you attend different skills workshops and networking events, make a LinkedIn profile and have mock interviews to get feedback. I did the medicine mock interview last year and found it very helpful!

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Sheffield has been voted the best uni in the Yorkshire and Humber and 13th in the Russell Group for the percentage of employed graduates who are in "highly skilled employment" (according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 24th June 2020).
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/university-sheffield-top-for-graduate-prospects-hesa-1.891719#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Sheffield%20is,from%20the%20Higher%20Education%20Statistics

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Generally, I love Sheffield as a student city, I lived in city accommodation so I was always within 10 minutes walk of the campus. It is such a diverse, fast-paced city and there is always so much going on.

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The Biomedical Science department is not that spread out, although it is not a campus uni, it feels like one because the buildings are so close together and within walking distance! I liked that it wasn't a campus uni as it really felt like I was really integrated with the Sheffield community.

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The Students Union has been the best in the country for 12 years now and student satisfaction is very high! There are so many societies on offer, you can never get bored! There is really a huge sense of community at Sheffield which I am going to miss so much. I've been involved in various societies, charity events, been on committees, had three part time jobs and ran my own volunteering project. The opportunities that Sheffield has offered has definitely made me the person I am today!